This petition was submitted during the 2017-2019 parliament
Petition Hold online trolls accountable for their online abuse via their IP address
It’s far too easy for online trolls to just create another email address and another social media account if they have their accounts suspended.
More details
However if their internet service providers were required to block their access to social media, and social media companies blocked their IP addresses, it would be far harder for them to get another account and continue their abuse.
This petition closed early because of a General Election Find out more on the Petitions Committee website
Parliament debated this topic
This topic was debated on 28 February 2022
Government responded
This response was given on 24 September 2019
Unacceptable behaviour and content is far too prevalent online. The Online Harms White Paper sets out our plans for world-leading legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.
Read the response in full
Unacceptable behaviour and content is far too prevalent online. The Online Harms White Paper sets out our plans for world-leading legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.
In recent years there has been a worrying rise in the amount of abuse, harassment and intimidation online - particularly directed at those in public life. Much of this abuse happens on social media, and the Government is aware of too many stories of public figures closing social media accounts following online abuse. In many cases, the offender will be unknown to the victim, and in some instances, they will have taken technical steps to conceal their identity.
This abuse is unacceptable – it goes beyond free speech and free debate, dissuades good people from going into public life, and corrodes the values on which our democracy rests.
The Online Harms White Paper sets out our intent to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users, overseen by an independent regulator. Companies will be required to build an understanding of the risks associated with their services and take reasonable steps to guard against harm to their users, relative to their level of risk and resources. Companies need to take responsibility for tackling abusive behaviour on their services, because our society is built on democratic freedoms that allow different voices, views and opinions to freely and peacefully contribute to public discourse.
Details of the reasonable steps we expect companies to take will be set out in codes of practice which will be issued by the regulator. But specifying a particular technical solution risks that approach becoming outdated or defunct as technology and harms evolve.
Ahead of the implementation of the new regulatory framework, we will continue to encourage companies to take early action to address online harms.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Related activity
Only Way is Essex star to give evidence to Petitions Committee on online abuse
The Petitions Committee (the group of MPs who oversee the petitions system) will hear evidence on Thursday 21 May at 11am from Bobby Norris, petition creator and star of reality TV show The Only Way is Essex, as part of a new investigation into online abuse.
Watch the session live online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMMPwVewJPU
The Petitions Committee has launched an inquiry into tackling online abuse, to consider issues raised in a number of petitions from the last Parliament and to follow up on the Committee’s previous inquiry into online abuse and the experiences of disabled people. The Committee’s inquiry comes as people are spending more time online due to social distancing, and in the wake of the Government’s white paper on online harms, which was published in February.
What is the Petitions Committee?
The Petitions Committee is a cross-party group of MPs that considers e-petitions submitted on Parliament’s petitions website and public (paper) petitions presented to the House of Commons. It is independent of the Government.
You can get updates on their work by following the Committee on Twitter
@HoCpetitions or on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/
This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
Find out more about how petitions work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGEOraE08Jk&feature=youtu.be
Petitions Committee hears from Only Way is Essex star about online abuse
This week the Petitions Committee's heard from the creator of this petition, Bobby Norris from the Only Way is Essex, in the first step of its new inquiry on tackling online abuse.
You can watch the session or read a transcript of the meeting here:
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqMKtR-pt0A
Read the transcript: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/409/default/
The Committee heard about Bobby's experience of online abuse and why he had started the petition.
The Committee's inquiry will consider issues raised in a number of petitions, and follow up on the Petitions Committee’s previous inquiry into online abuse and the experiences of disabled people. We'll email you again to let you know what the next steps are.
Follow the Committee's inquiry on it's website: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/307/tackling-online-abuse/
Find out about the Committee's previous inquiry into online abuse and the experiences of disabled people: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/petitions-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/online-abuse-17-19/
What is the Petitions Committee?
The Petitions Committee is a cross-party group of MPs that considers e-petitions submitted on Parliament’s petitions website and public (paper) petitions presented to the House of Commons. The Committee can schedule debates, hold in-depth inquiries, and press the Government for action on petitions. It is independent of the Government.
You can get updates on their work by following the Committee on Twitter
@HoCpetitions or on their
website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/
This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
Find out more about how petitions work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGEOraE08Jk&feature=youtu.be
MPs debate online harms in House of Commons
MPs held a debate on online harms in Westminster Hall this week, on Wednesday 7 October. The debate included discussion of a number of petitions on this subject, including the one you have signed.
You can watch the debate here: https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/aad8d239-7905-49b7-a217-33530de02d33
Or read the transcript here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-10-07/debates/E70A853B-6CBE-4215-9035-30AB3E490798/OnlineHarms
The Petitions Committee is currently investigating tackling online abuse. You can find out more about this here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/307/tackling-online-abuse/
The Committee also published a report in 2019 about online abuse and the experience of disabled people, you can read this here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmpetitions/759/759.pdf
You can follow the Committee on Twitter for updates on work on this issue and others: https://www.twitter.com/hocpetitions
Find out more about how Parliamentary debates work: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/debates/
Find out more about the Backbench Business Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/202/backbench-business-committee/
Government announces plans to tackle online abuse
On Tuesday 11 May, the Government announced its plans for new laws to tackle harmful content online, as part of the Queen's Speech. The Government's plans for new internet laws are intended to protect children online and tackle some of the worst abuses on social media, including racist hate crimes. These new laws are contained in a new Online Safety Bill, which will be considered Parliament in due course.
Read more about the Government's plans here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-laws-to-keep-children-safe-stop-racial-hate-and-protect-democracy-online-published
Read the draft Online Safety Bill and explanatory notes here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-online-safety-bill
Read the Queen's Speech background briefing notes for more information on the Government's proposed Bills: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-speech-2021-background-briefing-notes
What is the Queen's Speech?
The Queen's Speech is the speech that the Queen reads out in the House of Lords Chamber on the occasion of the State Opening of Parliament.
It's written by the Government and sets out the programme of Bills - new laws, and changes to existing laws - that the Government intends to put forward in this new Parliamentary session. A session of Parliament usually lasts around one year.
Once the Government puts forward a Bill in Parliament, Parliament then debates the Government's proposal and decides whether to adopt the changes to the law set out in the Bill.
Petitions Committee publishes report on tackling online abuse and announces debate
On Tuesday 1 February, the Petitions Committee published a new report on Tackling Online Abuse, which examines what the Government can do to help protect social media users from abuse online.
The report is the result of an inquiry by the Committee, in which it heard from petition creators, campaign groups, social media companies, and experts on social media regulation.
Read a summary of the report and its key recommendations to the Government:
https://ukparliament.shorthandstories.com/tackling-online-abuse-petitions-report/index.html
The Committee has also scheduled a debate in Parliament on the two petitions which prompted its inquiry, which will take place on Monday 28 February.
Find out more, including comment from Petitions Committee Chair Catherine McKinnell MP:
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/160612/failure-to-prevent-repeated-online-abuse-should-lead-to-fines-for-social-media-companies-say-mps
About the Committee's report
The report looks at how the Government and social media companies can better respond to abusive behaviour taking place online, and address the harm abuse can cause to people who receive it, and their families.
It looks at new laws the Government is planning to introduce in the Online Safety Bill, which the Government has said will help to tackle online abuse.
The report also considers how to ensure people abusing others online are held accountable for their actions, including changes to the criminal law to punish this behaviour, and whether social media users should be required to link their account to a real world identity document.
The report calls on the Government to take action including:
- Fining social media companies that fail to prevent people who have been banned from the platform for abusive behaviour from setting up new accounts
- Requiring social media companies to give their users the option to link their account to verified ID and block interactions with unverified users
- Strengthening the protections for adults in the Online Safety Bill against the risk of facing abuse on social media, in particular for groups of users who are more likely to receive abuse.
Read the full report (HTML): https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmpetitions/766/report.html
Read the full report (PDF): https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/8669/documents/88038/default/
What happens next?
The Petitions Committee has submitted the report to the Government for their consideration. The Government is expected to respond to the Committee's report within two months. Once it’s been received, the Committee will publish the Government’s response on its website and notify petitioners.
Follow the Committee on Twitter for updates on its work: https://twitter.com/hocpetitions
The Government is expected to introduce the Online Safety Bill in Parliament later this year. Once it has been presented in Parliament you'll be able to read the Bill and follow its progress here: https://bills.parliament.uk/
Westminster Hall debate
The Committee has also scheduled a debate on the following petitions relating to online abuse which have received more than 830,000 signatures in total:
Make verified ID a requirement for opening a social media account: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/575833
Hold online trolls accountable for their online abuse via their IP address: https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/272087
The debate will take place on Monday 28 February from 4:30pm, and will last for up to 3 hours. You will be able to watch the debate on Parliament's YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_eyMIEc564&feature=youtu.be
The debate will be opened by Catherine McKinnell MP, the Chair of the Petitions Committee. The Government will send a Minister to respond.