On Tuesday 2 November, the Petitions Committee will hold an evidence session with experts and campaigners as it resumes its inquiry into Tackling Online Abuse.
Watch the session, from 2.15pm on Tuesday 2 November: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Commons
The session follows evidence sessions in summer 2020 with petitioners Katie and Amy Price, and Bobby Norris, focusing on their experience of receiving online abuse targeted at them and their families.
The Committee is resuming its inquiry following the Government’s publication of its draft Online Safety Bill earlier this year. Tuesday's session will be the first of three sessions the Committee plans to hold over the next month.
Earlier this year, a petition calling for verified ID to be made a requirement for opening a social media account received almost 700,000 signatures in six months. Over 500,000 of those people signed in the weeks following the racist abuse aimed at England footballers after the 2020 European Championships final.
Find all publications related to this inquiry, including oral and written evidence: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/307/tackling-online-abuse/publications/
What is the Committee looking at?
The Committee's inquiry will be focusing on:
The lived experience of people receiving online abuse on social media, particularly in relation to protected characteristics;
Social, regulatory and technological solutions to online abuse – in particular the option of user ID verification and/or restrictions on anonymity on social media; and
The availability and enforcement of legal penalties for online abuse.
In its evidence session on 2 November, the Committee will focus on opportunities and priorities for Government action to tackle online abuse aimed at people as a result of characteristics such as their sexuality, disability, or religion.
It will also consider experts’ perspectives on the Government’s proposals to tackle online abuse through its draft Online Safety Bill, as well as looking at how stronger Government-led interventions to tackle online abuse could affect freedom of speech online.
Find out more about this session on our website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/158217/petitions-committee-hears-from-antidiscrimination-campaigners/
What are evidence sessions?
Evidence sessions are public meetings with experts, officials or people with personal experiences of the topic being examined. Evidence sessions help Committees to understand how Government policies are working in the real world, and what needs to change to make things better.
What is the Petitions Committee?
The Petitions Committee is a cross-party group of MPs appointed by the House of Commons to consider e-petitions submitted on Parliament’s petitions website and public (paper) petitions presented to the House of Commons.
Find out more about the Petitions Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/
Follow the Committee on Twitter for updates on its work: https://twitter.com/HoCpetitions
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