B

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 30 October 2024

Debate

Social Media: Catfishing

Contribution

My noble friend is quite right about the expression “catfishing”. I had to check the definition before I came here today, and for anyone who wants that clarification, it is when someone sets up a fake online identity and uses it to trick and control others. It covers a whole range of offences, including scamming people out of money, blackmailing them or trying to harm them in another way. On my noble friend’s general point, yes, we are of course looking at how we can match online safety with offline safety; that is part of ongoing work. But for the time being, as I have said several times from the Dispatch Box, rolling out the Online Safety Act is the crucial thing. We are within touching distance, and it will make a huge difference when it is fully implemented. That is our priority at this time.

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