Richard Bruton, the communications minister, announced the introduction of a new online safety act on March 4. No text was produced — not even the outline of a bill — but rather a six-week consultation period, which has just closed. This is the latest in a series of half-steps and U-turns by this government in attempting to regulate social media. There have been policy debates and action plans, but little actual legislation.

When it comes to online safety, two things are clear. On the one hand, “something must be done”. On the other, nobody knows quite what. A good start would be a commitment to social science research, and a substantial campaign to raise public awareness, but no politician is going to propose anything quite