Labour MP Dame Chi Onwurah, who chairs the Commons Science and Technology Committee, has launched a parliamentary inquiry into the use of digital technology to facilitate stalking, harassment, coercive control and intimate-image abuse.
The committee will examine the scale and impact of technology-facilitated harm, whether current law is keeping pace and how government, online platforms and technology companies are responding.
Connected devices under the spotlight
The inquiry will consider how connected devices such as doorbells, speakers and fitness trackers can be misused to monitor or control victims. It will focus primarily on digital abuse and online platforms.
The committee said referrals to Refuge’s specialist technology-facilitated abuse and economic-empowerment team rose by more than 62 per cent in 2025.
New routes for abuse
Onwurah said technology could empower and protect people but could also create new routes for abuse, particularly against women and girls.
The committee is inviting evidence from people and organisations with relevant expertise until 4 November.
