Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to impose a duty on (a) technology, (b) social media and (c) telecommunication companies to contribute towards the costs of refunding victims of fraud which originated on their platforms.

It is vital that the tech sector takes a proactive role to prevent online fraud and that the requirement on the sector is proportionate to their ability, as a platform host, to identify online fraud.

In recognition of the responsibility of the tech sector for tackling fraud, the Online Safety Bill will place a requirement on relevant companies to take preventive measures to stop fraudulent content and advertising from appearing on their platforms, or face fines of up to £18m or 10% of their annual turnover. In the interim, the Fraud Strategy, published by the Home Office in May, set out measures to reduce fraud incidents by 10% by the end of the current Parliament, including the announcement that the government would negotiate and agree a voluntary Online Fraud Charter with the tech sector by the end of the summer. We will publish further details on the Charter in due course.