Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on (a) tackling online trolling and (b) the effect of online trolling on people’s psychological wellbeing.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care had a meeting with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Matt Hancock) on 20 February 2018 which included discussion on the impact of social media on children and young people’s mental health.

During the meeting they discussed how to make progress in this area, specifically around harmful content as well as age verification and long periods of time online. There was an acknowledgement of the need for more evidence in the area and also a recognition that social media has clear potential benefits as well as potential harms.