Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of potential impact of online Com Networks on the online safety; and what information her Department holds on what enforcement action has been taken against online platforms to regulate content posted by these networks.

The Government recognises the serious risks to user safety posed by online groups and recently strengthened the Online Safety Act regime by making the offence of encouraging or assisting serious self-harm a priority offence. This means regulated platforms must prioritise assessing and mitigating the risks of such content appearing on their services.

Ofcom, the independent regulator, is implementing changes to the regulatory framework and has specifically taken account of evidence about so-called "Com groups", including how they use direct and group messaging to groom and manipulate vulnerable users into self-harm. Ofcom publishes details of enforcement action on its website.