The Government’s Online Harms Bill will bring in new laws requiring the big social media platforms to take greater action to tackle unacceptable, as well as criminal, behaviour. The Bill will also tackle other offences, including investment scams and ‘romance’ fraud, where people pretend to care about someone in order to defraud them.
We are seeing too many people on social media hurling abuse from behind a cloak of anonymity. They can never be made accountable for their actions or the hurt they cause to the victims. It’s got to stop.
In addition to this, life savings have been lost as a result of investment scams and ‘romance’ fraud, with more than £60million defrauded in the last year alone. It’s cruel, deceitful -and will be criminal. That’s why the Government is bringing forward an Online Harms Bill.
I am proud that here in Dover and Deal, our communities have shown such kindness during the pandemic. Now is the time to bring in an age of greater internet kindness and decency.