Committees

Online safety and online harms

Inquiry

The Sub-Committee will investigate how focus has shifted since the introduction of the Online Safety Strategy Green Paper in 2017, including concerns that the definition of harm is now too narrow and may fail to address issues such as non-state intervention in elections, racist abuse and content that contributes to self-harm and negative body image. It will also explore key omissions of the draft Bill, such as a general duty for tech companies to deal with reasonably foreseeable harms, a focus on transparency and due process mechanisms or regulatory powers to deal with urgent security threats and how any gaps can be filled before the Bill is finalised. Another focus will be on where lessons can be learnt from international efforts to regulate big tech, such as in France, Germany and Australia.

This inquiry by the House of Commons DCMS Sub-Committee is distinct from any work by the Joint Committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill, established by the House of Lords and the House of Commons on 23 July. 

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was Friday 3 September 2021.

Upcoming events

View all events

No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 1 February 2022
11:00am Public
Online safety and online harms - Oral evidence 1 February 2022
11:00am
  • Chris Philp MP (Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy at Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
  • Sarah Connolly (Director, Security and Online Harms at Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
  • Kate Morris (Head, Online Harms Regulatory Framework at Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Tuesday 18 January 2022
11:00am Public
Online safety and online harms - Oral evidence 18 January 2022
11:00am
  • Iain Bundred (Head of Public Policy UK&I at YouTube)
  • Richard Earley (UK Public Policy Manager at Meta)
  • Elizabeth Kanter (Director of Government Relations and Public Policy at TikTok)
  • Niamh McDade (Deputy Head of UK Policy at Twitter)
Grimond Room
Tuesday 14 December 2021
10:00am Public
Online safety and online harms - Oral evidence 14 December 2021
10:00am
  • Julie Inman Grant
Room 5, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 9 November 2021
10:00am Public
Online safety and online harms - Oral evidence 9 November 2021
10:00am
  • Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana (Head of Regulation at IMPRESS)
  • Michelle Stanistreet (General Secretary at National Union of Journalists)
11:00am
  • Iain Corby (Executive Director at Age Verification Providers Association)
  • Julie Dawson (Director of Regulatory and Policy at Yoti)
  • Till Sommer (Head of Policy at Internet Service Providers Association)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Contact us

We can't usually help you with an individual problem or a specific complaint.

  • Email: cmscom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: (General Enquiries) 020 7219 6188 / (Media Enquiries) 020 7219 1679
  • Address: CMS Committee (Online Harms and Disinformation), House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA