Committees

Facebook, Twitter, Google and TikTok to give evidence on the draft Online Safety Bill

25 October 2021

Senior representatives from big tech companies including Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube and TikTok will give evidence to MPs and Peers on the Joint Committee on the draft Online Safety Bill at a session on Thursday 28 October from 3pm.

Witnesses

Thursday 29 October

At 3.00 pm:

  • Antigone Davis, Global Head of Safety, Facebook
  • Rebecca Stimson, UK Director of Public Policy, Facebook

At 4.30pm:

  • Leslie Miller, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, YouTube
  • Markham C. Erickson, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google

At 6.00pm:

  • Nick Pickles, Senior Director, Global Public Policy Strategy, Development and Partnerships, Twitter
  • Dr Theo Bertram, Director of Government Relations, Europe, TikTok

Purpose of the session

The tech companies will be asked about their current approaches to online safety and how they may be affected by the draft legislation.
This session comes on the heels of evidence from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen this Monday 25 October from 2.30pm.

Nobel Prize winning journalist Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler, will give evidence on Wednesday 27 October from 9:00 am.

Chair's comments

Chair of the Joint Committee, Damian Collins MP, said:

“The Online Safety Bill will establish a new era of regulation for tech platforms which will make them accountable to an independent body for what they host, and the active role their recommendation systems play in promoting it to other users.
“We want to make online products like search and social media safer and ensure that tech companies have effective systems in place to mitigate the spread of harmful and illegal content. We look forward to questioning Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok on how they intend to comply with the requirements of the Online Safety Bill."

Further information