Committee publication · Correspondence · 18 July 2025
Letter, dated 16 July 2025 from Mr Speaker to X, requesting further information following the evidence session on 9 July 2025
From: Speaker's Conference (2024)
Inquiry: Speaker’s Conference on the security of candidates, MPs and elections
Summary
The Speaker requests detailed information from X (formerly Twitter) following its evidence to the Speaker's Conference on 9 July 2025. The letter seeks data on police identity disclosure requests, content moderation timescales, political party abuse reporting access, content moderation staffing levels, Online Safety Act compliance, and X's receptiveness to a public health campaign against MP abuse.
Key findings
- Speaker's Conference received evidence identifying issues regarding abuse and intimidation of MPs and candidates, prompting formal follow-up questions
- Requests for disclosure data: formal and informal police requests for user identity, X's disclosure rates, response timescales, and conditions required from police
- Seeks information on content moderation timescales: X's target and average times for deciding on abusive post removal
- Questions X's political party abuse reporting access: which parties use the dedicated election reporting address and barriers to smaller party inclusion
- Requests staffing and volume data: content moderation team sizes globally and in UK, post volume comparisons before and after Elon Musk's acquisition
- Asks about Online Safety Act compliance actions and their impact, plus preparation for phase three implementation and categorised services duties
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
The Speaker, Ms Dile, X (formerly Twitter), UK police, Political parties, Elon Musk, Speaker's Conference
Notable line
“It was an important evidence session that identified a number of issues regarding the abuse and intimidation of MPs and candidates …”
Key Quotes
“It was an important evidence session that identified a number of issues regarding the abuse and intimidation of MPs and candidates, and also raised a number of further questions.”
“The Conference is considering the merits of a public health style campaign targeting the impression that abuse of MPs is acceptable, and whether it could be delivered through social media platforms”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗