Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of existing safeguards against the promotion on social media to children and young people of potentially harmful weight-loss products, including diet and detox supplements and illegally marketed weight-loss medicines; and what steps they are taking to address any identified gaps in monitoring and enforcement.

Prescription-only weight-loss medicines cannot be advertised to the general public, including through social media. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has powers to investigate and take appropriate action where breaches of relevant legislation concerning medicines are identified. Under the Online Safety Act platforms must protect users from illegal content and children from harmful content including content which encourages, promotes, or provides instructions for eating disorders. We are going further by banning social media offering their services to under 16s.