Lord Puttnam response to DCMS Committee report on COVID-19 misinformation
The House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee will publish a report on misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic at 00:01 on Tuesday 21 July.
Commenting on the report Lord Puttnam, who Chaired the House of Lords Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee, said:
“This timely report illustrates the urgent need for an Online Harms bill that will tackle misinformation. Platforms must be held accountable for the harmful lies they spread.
“The DCMS Committee offer further evidence of the ways in which misinformation exacerbates the current pandemic and, if unchecked, could cause even greater chaos and suffering in the future. The Committee I chaired heard that misinformation is undermining our democracy as well as damaging our health. Bringing forward an Online Harms Bill to tackle misinformation should be an absolute priority for any Government wishing to protect its citizens.”
Lord Puttnam's Committee published its report on 29 June and set out a range of recommendations to protect democracy from the ‘existential threat' it faced from online misinformation.
