Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to tackle the effect of misinformation online on disordered eating.

The government is committed to making the UK the safest place to be online.

The Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, published in December 2020, sets out the government’s plans to introduce a new statutory duty of care. Tech companies will have new responsibilities to protect their users, particularly children, from harmful content, which could include eating disorder content. The Online Safety Bill, which will give effect to the regulatory framework outlined in the full government response, will be ready this year.

We have asked the Law Commission to review the current legislation on harmful online communications. As part of this review the Government has also asked the Law Commission to examine how the criminal law will address the encouragement or assistance of self harm. The Law Commission has made provisional recommendations and has consulted on these proposed reforms. They will provide final recommendations in summer 2021.

Online media and digital literacy can equip users with the skills they need to spot dangers online, critically appraise information and take steps to keep themselves and others safe online. The Online Harms White Paper, set out the government’s intention to develop an online media literacy strategy. The strategy will ensure a coordinated and strategic approach to online media literacy education and awareness for children, young people and adults.