August 13, 2018

The consultation is a result of the Committee’s recent report “Online abuse and the experience of disabled people”, which includes 14 draft recommendations for consultation.

The recommendations include making incitement of disability hatred a specific crime and requiring social media companies to produce “Easy Read” privacy notices. The draft recommendations are based on conversations with and evidence from disabled people, disability advocacy groups, the police and social media companies.

The inquiry into online abuse and the experience of disabled people was prompted by a petition by Katie Price, signed by more than 200,000 people. Her petition calls for a specific criminal offence to cover online abuse and a register of offenders. It talks about online abuse directed at people from all backgrounds, but also highlights the shocking abuse directed at her disabled son, Harvey.

The Petitions Committee said that, “disabled people are failed at every stage in the development of digital policy and practice”. It noted that the law is insufficient in dealing with disability hate crime and that the online space has opened up new avenues for so-called “mate crime”, where people are befriended with the intention of exploiting them financially, physically or sexually. This can be a particular issue for adults with learning disabilities. The Petitions Committee heard that social media and internet dating increase the opportunities for vulnerable disabled people to be targeted. For further information and to respond to the consultation, click here.