Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab): My Lords, I express my deepest sympathy to the family of the victims of this appalling case.

UK — Parliament · 2024-10-30 · UK · verified record

Themes: Child safety & minors · Online platforms · Search services

My Lords, I express my deepest sympathy to the family of the victims of this appalling case. In addition to the existing criminal laws, social media companies already have a duty to keep people safe from these abhorrent crimes on their platforms. The Government obviously share the noble Baroness’s commitment to keeping children safe. When the Online Safety Act is fully implemented, it will require user-to-user services to take steps to protect children from accessing that sort of harmful content. Ofcom will have robust enforcement powers to use against companies that fail to fulfil their dutie

Question Asked by To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address ‘catfishing’ on social media platforms. My Lords, the impact of catfishing can be devastating for victims, but the online world is not a lawless environment. Already, if you commit a crime online, you will face the consequences. Social media companies also have a clear responsibility to keep people safe on their platforms. The Online Safety Act will provide additional protections requiring platforms to take action to protect users from illegal content and activity that is harmful to children online. My Lord…