Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Court Proceedings: Social Media

Tuesday 28 March 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Minister has taken steps to mitigate the risk social media poses to court cases following a 2019 call for evidence.
  • Arrangements are in place with social media companies to flag and remove relevant material and to enforce anonymity laws.
  • The Minister agreed to meet Simon Fell to discuss applying the same conditions to social media channels as traditional media.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Simon Fell
Justice & Courts Culture, Media & Sport
Context

Discussion about the risks social media poses to ongoing legal proceedings and public safety.

Question

What assessment has been made of the impact of social media on live court cases?

Answer from Mike Freer

We have taken steps to mitigate the risk that social media poses to court cases following a call for evidence in 2019. Arrangements are in place with social media companies to ensure that relevant material is flagged and removed, and we are working to improve the enforcement of anonymity laws. Courts will take appropriate action against those who misuse social media, and they may be found in contempt of court, resulting in a fine and up to two years in prison.

Answered
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Q2 Simon Fell
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

A specific incident in May 2020 where a false allegation was posted on social media, impacting investigations and court proceedings.

Question

Will the Minister agree to meet me to discuss whether we can look at applying the same conditions to social media channels as traditional media?

Answer from Mike Freer

I am more than happy to meet my hon. Friend. I can reassure him that contempt of court and reporting restrictions apply to social media as well as mainstream media. We continually look at what more we can do to strengthen the law in this area, and that is why we have asked the Law Commission to consider the issue as part of a wide-ranging review of the law on contempt of court. Two new offences in the Online Safety Bill will criminalise the type of behaviour we have seen in the Eleanor Williams case. The false communications offence will criminalise communications where a person sends information that they know to be false with the intention of causing harm.

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