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Written question asked by Lord Austin of Dudley (Independent (affiliation)) on Thursday, 17 October 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 22 October 2019 (named day). It was answered by Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 22 October 2019 on behalf of the House of Commons Commission.

Members: Twitter

Question

To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many hon. Members have discussed with the House authorities abuse and threats that they have received on Twitter.

Answer

Threats and abuse received by Members should always be reported to the police.

The Parliamentary Security Department uses best endeavours to review tweets sent publicly to Members, reporting matters of concern to the police and Twitter as appropriate. This opt-in service is only done with Members’ express permission.

The Parliamentary Security Department regularly provides advice to Members and their staff on social media security, but we do not collate data on these interactions. For security and privacy reasons, the discussions held between Members and the House authorities relating to threats and abuse are not publicly available.

The Member is invited to contact the Director of Security for Parliament directly if he wishes to discuss this matter further.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
1631
Session
2019-19
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Harassment Members Twitter
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk