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1719222

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	X Corp: Disinformation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Counter disinformation unit has taken to help X tackle QAon disinformation on its platform.
tabling member constituency	South Swindon
tabling member printed	Sir Robert Buckland
uin	27030
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>In October 2023 the Counter Disinformation Unit became the National Security and Online Information Team (the NSOIT). The name more accurately reflects the team’s revised remit and function, which is to tackle the greatest national security risks facing the UK from mis and disinformation, specifically looking at threats posed by foreign states, risks to elections and from the use of AI and deepfakes. This revised remit is kept under regular review.</p><p> </p><p>NSOIT’s remit does not include working with individual platforms to tackle mis or disinformation from certain individuals or groups. In specific circumstances, the NSOIT may share online material with platforms where it is in line with ministerial steers, is on an issue within the team’s remit, and where the content appears to be in breach of the platform’s terms of service. Social media platforms decide whether or not content is a breach of their terms of service and, if so, what action to take.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 23/05/2024 16:15:31 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland

1719091

registered interest
date	17/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Online Safety Act 2023: Freedom of Expression
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations on the inclusion of (a) human rights and (b) due process principles in Ofcom guidance to companies relating to the Online Safety Act 2023 in the article by The Open Rights Group entitled A dangerous precedent for global censorship, published on 4 March 2024.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	26856
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The government recognises the importance of upholding users’ rights to free expression and privacy online. This is why the Online Safety Act 2023 has built strong safeguards for freedom of expression and privacy into the legislative framework. For example, all providers are required to give particular regard to the importance of protecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy rights when implementing measures to comply with their new safety duties. In addition, major online platforms – known as Category 1 services under the Act - will be required to put in place particular safeguards for journalism and content of democratic importance, in recognition of their influence over public discourse.</p><p>Ofcom’s public consultation for the illegal content duties closed in February 2024 and organisations such as the Open Rights Group were able to provide feedback on Ofcom’s proposals. As a public authority, Ofcom must act in accordance with its public law duties to act lawfully, rationally and fairly. It is unlawful for Ofcom to act in a way which is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, including with regard to individual’s’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy. Ofcom must abide by these principles when developing its regulatory codes of practice and guidance for services.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti grouped question UIN 26858 question first answered 23/05/2024 14:07:32 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1719093

registered interest
date	17/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Online Safety Act 2023: Freedom of Expression
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Ofcom guidance on the Online Safety Act 2023 on freedom of expression.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	26858
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The government recognises the importance of upholding users’ rights to free expression and privacy online. This is why the Online Safety Act 2023 has built strong safeguards for freedom of expression and privacy into the legislative framework. For example, all providers are required to give particular regard to the importance of protecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy rights when implementing measures to comply with their new safety duties. In addition, major online platforms – known as Category 1 services under the Act - will be required to put in place particular safeguards for journalism and content of democratic importance, in recognition of their influence over public discourse.</p><p>Ofcom’s public consultation for the illegal content duties closed in February 2024 and organisations such as the Open Rights Group were able to provide feedback on Ofcom’s proposals. As a public authority, Ofcom must act in accordance with its public law duties to act lawfully, rationally and fairly. It is unlawful for Ofcom to act in a way which is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, including with regard to individual’s’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy. Ofcom must abide by these principles when developing its regulatory codes of practice and guidance for services.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti grouped question UIN 26856 question first answered 23/05/2024 14:07:32 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1718001

registered interest
date	14/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Subversion: Artificial Intelligence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will commission a report on the potential impact of AI on (a) democracy and (b) elections.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	26168
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p><strong></strong></p><p>The Government takes the threat disinformation and AI digitally manipulated content poses very seriously.</p><p>We have already seen examples of AI-driven election interference across the globe targeting elected leaders and seeking to influence democratic debate. To mitigate these risks, as part of the Defending Democracy Taskforce, DSIT is working across government to ensure we are ready to respond to risks to the UK’s democratic processes.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 17/05/2024 09:01:33 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1717478

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Social Media: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make it her policy to regulate small forums that share (a) antisemitic hatred and (b) instructional content on methods of suicide to the fullest extent possible under the powers available to her in the Online Safety Act 2023; and what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies on that matter of Ofcom's advice of 29 February 2024 on the use of powers under that Act.
tabling member constituency	Brigg and Goole
tabling member printed	Andrew Percy
uin	25824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>The Secretary of State is considering in detail the advice that Ofcom has provided. The Secretary of State will make regulations as soon as reasonably practicable, in line with Schedule 11 of the Act.</p><p>More broadly, all user-to-user services in scope of the Online Safety Act – including online forums of any size – will be required to comply with the illegal safety duties and take steps to remove illegal content. The strongest protections in the Act are for children and where these services are likely to be accessed by children, they must also protect children from a wider range of harmful content. Targeted duties on search services, to minimise illegal search results, will also reduce traffic to websites, including online forums, that host illegal material.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti grouped question UIN 25823 question first answered 21/05/2024 11:44:41 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	3939 label Biography information for Andrew Percy

1714507

registered interest
date	29/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Cybersecurity: Offshoring
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with UK-based companies on trends in the level of cyber security jobs moved abroad.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	24011
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>Ministers engage regularly with UK cyber security companies to understand employment trends. This includes engagement through visits and forums such as the Cyber Growth Partnership and the National Cyber Advisory Board. The government's annual <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fcyber-security-sectoral-analysis-2023&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cparliamentary-questions%40dsit.gov.uk%7C12135348c96d47fb98c308dc69cc4cbf%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C638501573393163645%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=T0wcem3PJgms71lT0PZdDxBFXsu%2Bd3PqM6dkEtVPV0w%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">cyber security sectoral analysis</a> reviews the growth and health of the sector, showing employment in the UK has risen each year since the government began publishing the data in 2018. Currently, the UK cyber security sector employs over 58,000 people, having generated an additional 5,300 jobs in the past year alone.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 02/05/2024 07:58:38 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1714620

registered interest
date	29/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Disinformation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 902272 on Disinformation, how many information threats the Defending Democracy Taskforce has responded to.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	24046
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>In 2022 the Defending Democracy Taskforce, chaired by the Security Minister, was established to further drive forward work to protect the UK from the full range of threats facing our democratic institutions and processes, including interference with the UK democratic process. The Taskforce engages across government and with Parliament, the UK’s intelligence community, the devolved administrations, local authorities, the private sector, and civil society.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It would not be appropriate to comment publicly on the volume of information threats the departments which support the Taskforce team have responded to, in part because doing so would give malign actors insight into the scale of the UK’s capabilities to identify and tackle such threats to our democratic processes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 02/05/2024 15:26:16 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1702417

registered interest
date	19/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	WhatsApp: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Meta's decision to lower the minimum age for access to WhatsApp to 13 on children's levels of exposure to extremist content.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	22801
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>The UK’s Online Safety Act will make the UK the safest place to be a child online. The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children. Providers which have age restrictions need to specify in their terms of service what measures they use to prevent underage access and apply these terms consistently The Online Safety Act will require user-to-user and search services to implement robust processes to tackle illegal content and safeguard children on their platforms.</p><p> </p><p>Under the Act, where an in-scope provider makes significant changes to their service, they will be required to update their illegal content and children’s risk assessment. Ofcom will have strong investigatory powers to determine the impact of changes that particular providers make. Where Ofcom finds that a functionality is a risk factor for illegal content or harm to children on particular services, then it is empowered to set out steps providers should take to mitigate this. Ofcom have robust enforcement powers available to use against companies who fail to fulfil their duties, including imposing substantial fines.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti grouped question UIN 22803 question first answered 29/04/2024 16:32:35 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1702187

registered interest
date	18/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Media: Disinformation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support is available to media organisations to (a) detect and (b) counteract foreign disinformation.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	22613
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government takes the issue of information threats to national security seriously, and the UK has a strong record of working closely with a wide range of different stakeholders to tackle these risks.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise the invaluable role of a free and independent press in providing accurate and reliable information. Government works to complement the efforts of our independent press sector through a number of initiatives to counter disinformation.</p><p> </p><p>For example, in 2022 the Government provided the BBC World Service with £4.1m emergency funding to help it to continue to bring independent, impartial and accurate news to people in Ukraine and Russia and counter disinformation in the face of increased propaganda from the Russian state. The Government has also directly sanctioned Russia-backed state media organisations who spread disinformation, helping to prevent the most prolific and harmful sources of disinformation from spreading propaganda to UK audiences online.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also recently passed the Online Safety Act (OSA), which includes the Foreign Interference Offence as a priority offence. This will require social media companies to take action against a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and interference targeted at the UK. Ofcom will produce guidance for providers on how they should fulfil these duties. The consultation for this guidance closed in March 2024 and Ofcom is currently finalising these codes, due to come into force at the end of 2024.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 01/05/2024 07:45:35 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1702190

registered interest
date	18/04/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Semiconductors: Manufacturing Industries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support the diversification of semiconductor manufacturing to enhance supply chain resilience.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	22616
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2024 answer text <p><strong></strong>The UK Government is taking steps domestically and internationally to address supply chain diversification requirements for different types of semiconductors. The UK has world-leading capability in semiconductor design, R&amp;D, and compound semiconductors and the Government is boosting the UK domestic sector through targeted intervention. Internationally, the UK Government is working closely with the G7 and bilaterally with partners such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and the US to improve global supply chain diversification and resilience.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 26/04/2024 11:44:15 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi