Police 'behind game' on net trolls

The police are behind the game when it comes to protecting children from online bullying, an MP has claimed.

Fiona MacTaggart, Labour MP for Slough, also claimed social media companies such as Facebook were not doing enough to clamp down on internet trolls who target vulnerable youngsters.

Ministers must introduce tough new regulations if the websites fail to deal with the problem, she told MPs during a debate in Westminster Hall.

Ms MacTaggart said: "On online bullying, I think the police are behind the game. I also think the police have to take more seriously the fact that these kind of things can happen in the virtual world that they wouldn't tolerate in the real world.

"They need to make sure that their policies and procedures can function appropriately."

Culture minister Ed Vaizey said the vast majority of people used the internet responsibly but it was important to distinguish between illegal comments and those which some people might find objectionable.

He said: "In this Government we are committed to tackling trolling, cyber-bullying, and all other forms of misuse of social networking sites."