Today we are launching our Elections Code of Practice!
By Elect Her
Online protections for those taking part in democratic life are long overdue!
Today we’ve launched the Elections Code alongside our partners:
Demos, The Jo Cox Foundation, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Fawcett Society, Full Fact and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
Online protections for those taking part in democratic life are long overdue.
Over the past decade, a growing body of evidence has shown that online abuse and misinformation - disproportionately targeting women and people from minoritised communities - are undermining democratic participation.
Too often, this abuse leads elected representatives to step down and deters prospective candidates from standing in the first place.
The role online platforms play in enabling these harms
Both the Speaker’s Conference and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) have recognised the role online platforms play in enabling these harms. Following the 2024 General Election, PACAC explicitly called on Ofcom, working with the Electoral Commission, to set out a clear timetable for tackling online abuse and intimidation during elections.
While these harms are not new, they are intensifying - particularly with the rapid development of AI technologies such as deepfakes. For many MPs and candidates, online abuse is now a daily reality, with election periods presenting especially high risks.
The impact on democratic participation is profound. Research by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Amnesty International, the Fawcett Society and others shows how online abuse silences voices and narrows political debate, with women and those from minoritised backgrounds bearing the greatest burden.
When participation is eroded in this way, our democracy becomes less representative and less resilient.
Tech platforms continue to allow abuse to flourish,
and enforcement has lagged behind the scale of the threat.
Despite widespread recognition of the problem, regulatory action has failed to keep pace. Tech platforms continue to allow abuse to flourish, and enforcement has lagged behind the scale of the threat.
The Electoral Commission has repeatedly warned that online abuse of candidates is increasing and has called for stronger action from both platforms and Ofcom under the Online Safety Act (OSA).
In its recent report, informed by evidence from the Online Safety Act Network, the Speaker’s Conference recommended that the Government require Ofcom to produce an Elections Code of Practice to compel platforms to act.
We’ve written that code
We have now developed such a Code. Its launch represents a decisive step towards protecting those who participate in elections, setting clear and practical expectations for platforms to prevent abuse and intimidation online.
We urge the Government to use the forthcoming Elections Bill to amend the OSA and embed these protections into law to safeguard democratic participation for everyone.
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Blog idea or comment piece?
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