The Government has confirmed it will add two new duties to its Online Safety Bill to strengthen the law against anonymous online abuse.

Carlisle MP, John Stevenson has welcomed new plans to protect people from anonymous online trolls.

Speaking John said: “These plans put greater power in the hands of users themselves, a move which is long overdue.

“The owners of social media sites need to take more responsibility for keeping their users safe.

“Individual users will now have greater control over who can contact them and will be able to prevent the hate directed at them by rogue algorithms. “

In the past year alone, people in the public eye, including England’s Euro 2020 footballers, have suffered horrendous racist abuse.

Female politicians have also received abhorrent death and rape threats, and there is repeated evidence of ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ people being subject to coordinated harassment and trolling.

The first duty will force the largest and most popular social media sites to give adults the ability to block people who have not verified their identity.

The second responsibility will require platforms to provide users with options to opt out of seeing harmful content.