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 the potential merits of implementing the recommendations from Ofcom's consultation on a new crisis measure under the Online Safety Act, including the expectation on social media platforms to conduct post-crisis analyses to improve transparency.

The Online Safety Act already places significant transparency duties on regulated services. We welcome Ofcom’s proposal to build on this with post-crisis analyses, and strengthen platforms’ coordinated approach during crisis periods.

We look forward to receiving Ofcom’s final decision in June 2026. Ofcom is responsible for determining and implementing the final approach and, subject to the parliamentary process, we expect any new measures to come into effect in early autumn.

In Protecting What Matters, the government’s plan to improve social cohesion, we have further committed to reviewing the Act’s crisis powers to ensure they are fit for purpose.