Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report by Big Brother Watch entitled Ministry of Truth: The Secretive Government Units Spying On Your Speech, published in January 2023.

The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) monitors narratives, trends and attempts to artificially manipulate the information environment online. It does not monitor individuals, however the content reviewed may incidentally include personal data, such as names and social media handles embedded within content published on publicly available sites. The CDU has a legal basis for collecting or processing any personal data as set out in Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR, and the processing is necessary for us in our work as a public body and in the public interest.

Freedom of expression and the media are essential qualities of any functioning democracy; people must be allowed to discuss and debate issues freely. The CDU’s role is not to spot every instance of disinformation but where harmful content is identified in the course of the CDU’s work which may breach a platform Terms of Service, this may be referred to the relevant platform who will consider whether or not to take any action. The CDU’s work is consistent with the Government’s principles and values on protecting freedom of expression and promoting a free, open, and secure internet and as such no action is taken on any content originating from journalists or politicians.