Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the impact of social media algorithms on levels of extremism in the UK.

The Home Office invests resources in understanding extremism and radicalisation, including work with international partners and external academics. Through this we look closely at the impact of social media algorithms on levels of extremism in the UK, but it is difficult to prove empirically or universally. The Online Safety Act requires online platforms to consider, as part of their illegal content and child safety risk assessments, how their algorithms impact exposure to illegal content and content harmful to children.

The Government is closely monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the OSA and remains committed to strengthening our laws if it does not deliver the necessary protections to ensure a safer online environment.

The Home Office is committed to countering extremism in all its forms where it divides communities and inflames tensions. Regardless of the worldview it draws from, if an ideology is causing harm by radicalising others into hatred, violence and extremism we will take action to prevent this and to safeguard susceptible individuals.