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Meetings comes ahead of Government’s forthcoming Internet Safety White Paper.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Wright, and Digital Minister Margot James are visiting the US this week to discuss how leading tech companies need to take more responsibility in tackling online harms to make the internet safer.

During the visit they will be talking to some of the world’s biggest technology firms, including Facebook, Twitter, Google and Apple.

Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport yesterday said:

I remain a firm believer that technology has the power to do good and positively impact our society. But it is clear that things need to change. With power comes responsibility and the time has come for the tech companies to be properly accountable.

The meeting comes ahead of the Government’s upcoming Internet Safety White Paper, which will set out how a range of online harms will be tackled, while respecting freedom of expression and promoting innovation.

The visit to the US also follows on from the recently published Cairncross report on the future of journalism, which recommends placing a ‘news quality obligation’ on large online platforms to improve people’s understanding of the source and trustworthiness of news articles. Tackling disinformation will be part of discussions in the US this week.