Closed petition Require social media platforms to protect disabled people from online abuse

Closed on 21 November 2021

Social media platforms currently have no legal responsibility to remove online abuse posted by their users. Disabled people should be protected by law from this abuse. The Government should impose a specific duty on these platforms to prevent and remove abusive posts targeted at disabled people.

The duty of care in the Online Safety Bill must specifically address the disproportionate abuse faced by disabled people online. Coventry Youth Activists are calling for the Government to strengthen social media platforms’ safeguarding responsibilities, to encourage them to invest in innovative ways to tackle this issue, rather than passing responsibility to the users posting the abuse. People with protected characteristics including disabled people should be afforded the same protections and rights online as in public places.