Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making identity verification mandatory for owning a social media account.

The Government recognises the benefits of identity verification, but this must be balanced with legitimate reasons for anonymity. That is why the Government's focus is on ensuring platforms provide effective tools to help users manage the risks they face online.

The Online Safety Act requires the largest user-to-user services to offer tools to verify identity and filter content from anonymous users. These additional duties are expected to come into force in 2027.