Government Communications: X

Lord Pannick Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I was dared to see whether we could get in “Ruth social” as opposed to Truth Social for any new platforms, and my noble friend has given me that opportunity. There are numerous existing platforms with huge reach, and it is about how we use them in the UK and how we make sure they are effective for the British people. WeAre8 is a social interest company that is trying to change the face of the internet; there are many other providers, and we must look at them in the round to make sure that we are using the right ones in the right place.

[Lord Pannick (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister’s argument in relation to X appears to be that it may be obnoxious, but other people use it so the Government must too. Is it not sometimes appropriate for the Government to take a position, adopt a principle and do what they think is right?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, this Government do what they think is right every single day. Some Members of your Lordships’ House will be aware of my own experiences on X and what that did to me. I stand here, even with those experiences, and say that I still believe that X is an appropriate platform to use because I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of expression. While I do not agree with a great deal of what is written on platforms where there is too much hate and misinformation and, at times, conspiracy theories, it is incredibly important that there is a counter-narrative when people are talking about whether vaccinations are appropriate and whether they should be going to hospital. It is incredibly important that the facts are available not where we wish people would use them, but where they are actually using them.