MPs have accused Twitter, Facebook and Google of being "unwilling" to give clear answers on how they are tackling false information during the pandemic.
The social media companies were criticised for their role during the coronavirus pandemic following a hearing with MPs on parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
Julian Knight MP, the committee's chair, accused the companies of dodging direct questions and simply reading prepared answers instead of providing statements of fact.
"The defensive position demonstrated by the representatives sent by Twitter, Facebook and Google was deeply unhelpful," he said.
Mr Knight added that the companies failed to explain "what they are doing to tackle the threat posed by record levels of misinformation and disinformation online about COVID-19, some of it deadly".
Sky News has found groups on Facebook calling for the harassment of 5G engineers and celebrating criminal damage to mobile phone masts - despite the social network claiming to be aggressively targeting disinformation.
Many of these false theories are being promoted on Facebook, where groups have been celebrating suspected arson attacks against masts and sharing advice on how to damage them.
After the MPs held an evidence session, as part of an inquiry into online harms with the firms, Mr Knight complained: "The lack of information and detail in the answers we were given showed a disregard for the important process of scrutiny.
"We're again asking the social media companies for information that was so woefully lacking in order to prove to parliament and their users that their organisations are open and accountable for their behaviour."
Facebook and YouTube have both banned conspiracy theorist David Icke after he posted misleading information about the coronavirus, although his account remains on Twitter.
In correspondence published on Monday, Mr Knight asked the companies for specific details on whether they have taken action against celebrities for spreading disinformation, and what proportion of people had seen this maliciously false information spread on their platforms.
The companies did not immediately respond to Sky News' requests for a response.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLXR3aXR0ZXItZmFjZWJvb2stYW5kLWdvb2dsZS1oYXZlLXF1ZXN0aW9ucy10by1hbnN3ZXItb3Zlci1kaXNpbmZvcm1hdGlvbi0xMTk4Mjk1MNIBfGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC9jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy10d2l0dGVyLWZhY2Vib29rLWFuZC1nb29nbGUtaGF2ZS1xdWVzdGlvbnMtdG8tYW5zd2VyLW92ZXItZGlzaW5mb3JtYXRpb24tMTE5ODI5NTA?oc=5
2020-05-04 14:10:16Z
CBMieGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLXR3aXR0ZXItZmFjZWJvb2stYW5kLWdvb2dsZS1oYXZlLXF1ZXN0aW9ucy10by1hbnN3ZXItb3Zlci1kaXNpbmZvcm1hdGlvbi0xMTk4Mjk1MNIBfGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC9jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy10d2l0dGVyLWZhY2Vib29rLWFuZC1nb29nbGUtaGF2ZS1xdWVzdGlvbnMtdG8tYW5zd2VyLW92ZXItZGlzaW5mb3JtYXRpb24tMTE5ODI5NTA
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