Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Social Media: Dangerous Content 2026-07-01

Wednesday 1 July 2026 · 3 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 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Richard Quigley questioned the effectiveness of banning social media for under-16s regarding content promoting eating disorders.
  • The response emphasized that under the Online Safety Act 2023, platforms must prevent children under 18 from accessing content promoting eating disorders.
  • Ze Franklin thanked the ministerial team for engagement on the issue of suicide forums and their impact on bereaved families.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Richard Quigley Lab Isle of Wight West
Culture, Media & Sport Mental Health
Context

MP Richard Quigley raised concerns about the effectiveness of existing measures to remove dangerous content from social media platforms.

Question

What steps she is taking to help remove dangerous content from social media platforms. I warmly welcome the Government's plans to ban social media for under-16s. However, when it comes to content promoting eating disorders, the risks do not simply disappear at 16. The eating disorder charity, Beat, recently pushed ChatGPT to stop generating restrictive meal plans altogether, which it did, so it is possible. Other platforms, however, have failed to act, with X still allowing users to search for harmful hashtags, such as #proana and #bonespo—I apologise if that is triggering.

Answer from Kanishka Narayan

I first thank my hon. Friend for championing an incredibly important cause. Content promoting eating disorders is horrific, and I have to be clear that not just at the age of 16, but under the Online Safety Act 2023, platforms must already prevent children under the age of 18 from accessing content about eating disorders or self-harm. Indeed, it is now a primary priority content offence, requiring a higher bar still to be discharged by those platforms. I will of course, as ever, be delighted to work with him and the eating disorders APPG on his further proposals.

Answered
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Q2 Richard Quigley Lab Isle of Wight West
NHS Culture, Media & Sport
Context

MP Richard Quigley raised concerns about the effectiveness of existing measures to remove dangerous content from social media platforms.

Question

What steps she is taking to help remove dangerous content from social media platforms. I warmly welcome the Government's plans to ban social media for under-16s. However, when it comes to content promoting eating disorders, the risks do not simply disappear at 16. The eating disorder charity, Beat, recently pushed ChatGPT to stop generating restrictive meal plans altogether, which it did, so it is possible. Other platforms, however, have failed to act, with X still allowing users to search for harmful hashtags, such as #proana and #bonespo—I apologise if that is triggering.

Answer from Kanishka Narayan

I first thank my hon. Friend for championing an incredibly important cause. Content promoting eating disorders is horrific, and I have to be clear that not just at the age of 16, but under the Online Safety Act 2023, platforms must already prevent children under the age of 18 from accessing content about eating disorders or self-harm. Indeed, it is now a primary priority content offence, requiring a higher bar still to be discharged by those platforms. I will of course, as ever, be delighted to work with him and the eating disorders APPG on his further proposals.

Answered
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Q3 Zöe Franklin Lib Dem Guildford
Culture, Media & Sport Mental Health
Context

MP Zöe Franklin raised concerns about the impact of suicide forums on bereaved families and asked for rapid response arrangements to be expanded.

Question

I thank the Secretary of State and the ministerial team for their positive engagement with me and colleagues across the House who have been working with bereaved families and the Molly Rose Foundation on the devastating impact of suicide forums. On the new crisis response protocol, my understanding is that it is primarily designed for large-scale public safety events. Can the Secretary of State advise on whether Ofcom will consider rapid response arrangements being expanded to cover cases where compelling evidence shows that content presents a risk for suicide, so that platforms are expected to act with the same urgency to protect individual lives?

Answer from Kanishka Narayan

I first pay tribute to the families that I have met who have raised the issue of suicide forums, which the hon. Member rightly raises. I have committed to them in the past that we will continue to press for quicker remedies for them when they suffer the worst tragedies imaginable. The Secretary of State and I will, of course, be delighted to look at whether there are ways we can make that a more systematic, rapid response.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide concrete details on how Ofcom would consider expanding the crisis response protocol or specific timelines for implementation.

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