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Written question asked by Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 29 August 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 3 September 2025 (named day). It was answered by Feryal Clark (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 September 2025 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.


Sports Competitors: Internet

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of (a) trends in the level of online abuse of sport people and (b) the effectiveness of online safety provisions.

Answer

The government is extremely concerned by the online abuse of sportspeople and will continue working with the sports sector to tackle this.

The Online Safety Act strengthens protections for public figures online. Harassment and hate crime are priority offences under the Act, requiring companies to proactively search for, remove and limit users’ exposure to such content and activity.

DSIT is working with Ofcom to develop a longer-term monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the Act’s impact, including assessing relevant data and crime statistics.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
73580
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Internet Safety Sports competitors
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk