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Written question asked by Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 26 March 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 April 2026. It was answered by Kanishka Narayan (Labour) on Friday, 17 April 2026 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Social Media: Health

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of social media content moderation practices, including shadow banning, on the visibility of women’s health information online; and what steps she is taking alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that such practices do not restrict access to legitimate health information while maintaining protections against harmful content.

Answer

The Online Safety Act does not prevent adults or children from accessing legal content about women’s health. Safeguards for freedom of expression have been built in throughout the framework of the Act, which places duties on platforms to protect users’ rights to freedom of expression when introducing safety measures.

The largest services regulated by the Act will have additional duties meaning they cannot arbitrarily remove content, and they will need to be clear what legal content is acceptable on their services and enforce the rules consistently for their adult users. Users will have access to effective complaints procedures to appeal when content is unduly taken down.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
124263
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Censorship Women Health Internet Social media
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk