2020 may have seen the start of the  pandemic but the UK has been facing an epidemic of its own – online abuse.

According to an analysis by the NSPCC, more than 10,000 offences of online child sexual abuse were logged by police between April 2019 and March 2020, a 16% increase on the previous year. Parliamentary intervention has come at a crucial time. The Online Safety Bill is the result of two years’ work seeking to provide a safer virtual environment for all. The Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden,  has hailed the “ground-breaking laws” that the UK government have committed to introducing to ensure social media platforms protect their users and “safeguard our liberties”.