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1579925

registered interest
date	23/01/2023
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	Telecommunications: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many people in rural areas do not have access to (1) landline phones, (2) mobile telephone coverage, (3) wireless coverage, (4) broadband, and (5) satellite internet.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL4988
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2023 answer text <p>Ofcom collects coverage as part of its reporting requirements, most recently in its Connected Nations Report, with data for the period to September 2022.</p><p>Ofcom reports that 96% of rural premises have indoor 4G coverage from at least one operator, rising to 99% for outdoor coverage. This equates to c.195,000 rural premises not having 4G indoor coverage, with c.26,500 not having outdoor 4G coverage.</p><p>With 2G and 3G coverage added in, 99% of rural premises have indoor voice coverage from at least one operator, rising to approximately 100% for outdoor coverage. This equates to 35,000 rural premises not having indoor voice coverage, with c. 6,900 not having outdoor voice coverage.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network programme will see the UK’s geographic (landmass) 4G coverage extend to 95% by the end of the programme, reducing rural ‘not spots’, and levelling up coverage between rural and urban areas.</p><p>Ofcom reports that 95% of UK premises have access to an Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Fixed Wireless Access Service. 7% of premises have access to a network operated by a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), which operate wireless networks independently of an MNO and coverage may therefore overlap. The data is not broken down by rurality.</p><p>In relation to broadband coverage, Ofcom reports that there are approximately 29,000 (~1%) rural premises in the UK unable to access a decent broadband connection of at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload through a fixed or WISP broadband connection. We expect this number to fall as broadband rollout continues through commercial investment and publicly-funded deployment such as Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network. Any premises unable to access a decent broadband connection is eligible to request one under the broadband Universal Service Obligation.</p><p>Commercial services for both Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are available across the UK. These services may not be suitable for premises in all locations, however.</p><p>As part of its Telecommunications Market Data Update, Ofcom reported that there were approximately 30.5 million fixed-line telephone services (including PSTN, ISDN and managed VoIP connections) in the UK. Ofcom does not break these down by rurality. Any premises which do not have access to a landline can request one under the telephony Universal Service Obligation.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 09/02/2023 16:58:31 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1585551

registered interest
date	08/02/2023
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	Artificial Intelligence: Safety
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider predictive text engines such as ChatGPT and Google's LaMDA BARD to be within the scope of the Online Safety Bill, as currently drafted; and if not, what other measures they will introduce to hold companies responsible for the operation of such software should it be likely to be accessed by children or by vulnerable UK citizens.
tabling member printed	Lord Stevenson of Balmacara
uin	HL5570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2023 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill has been designed to be technology-neutral to future-proof it and to ensure that the legislation keeps pace with emerging technologies. It will apply to companies which enable users to share content online or to interact with each other, as well as search services. Content generated by artificial intelligence ‘bots’ is in scope of the Bill, where it interacts with user-generated content, such as on Twitter. Search services using AI-powered features will also be in scope of the search duties outlined in the Bill.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 17/02/2023 14:26:05 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4175 label Biography information for Lord Stevenson of Balmacara

1587333

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when their Semiconductor Strategy will be published.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL5729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2023 answer text <p>The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has been reviewing the Government’s approach to the UK’s semiconductor sector and intends to set out its support for the sector in the forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy. The Strategy will be published in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 06/03/2023 11:58:22 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1587335

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Centre for Policy Studies Cashing in our Chips: How to strengthen the UK’s semiconductor sector, published on 10 February.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL5730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2023 answer text <p>The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has been leading a review of the semiconductor sector. DSIT has worked with departments across Whitehall to highlight the importance of semiconductors, and of working together to improve the resilience and security of UK supply chains and to deliver economic growth.</p><p>The Government regularly monitors publications relating to high-priority sectors such as the semiconductor sector. The Government recognises the importance of the semiconductor industry to the UK and our forthcoming strategy will set out our approach to it.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 06/03/2023 11:59:01 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1587336

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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: National Security
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to semiconductor supply in determining their national security policy.
tabling member printed	Lord West of Spithead
uin	HL5731
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2023 answer text <p>His Majesty’s Government recognises the vital role that semiconductor components play across the UK’s defence and other critical sectors.</p><p>Semiconductor supply chains are inherently global. The Government is already in initial talks with like-minded nations, including through multilateral fora, in order to safeguard the security and resilience of our chip supply.</p><p>Our forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy will set out our plans to assess and act on emerging supply chain threats, and to build on our existing protective levers.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 06/03/2023 11:59:43 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	3834 label Biography information for Lord West of Spithead

1587436

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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	Internet: Eating Disorders
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect (1) children, and (2) vulnerable adults, from online encouragement to pursue behaviours that may lead to eating disorders.
tabling member printed	Lord Weir of Ballyholme
uin	HL5728
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2023 answer text <p>Under the Online Safety Bill, companies which run websites which are likely to be accessed by children will need to take steps to prevent their child users from encountering self-harm and eating disorder content. All in-scope services will also need to address any other content (“non-designated content”) which risks causing significant harm to an appreciable number of children.</p><p>The largest services will also need to enforce their own terms and conditions, which often prohibit such content, and offer all adult users tools to give them greater control over the content they see. These tools will apply to content which encourages, promotes, or provides instructions for an eating disorder or behaviours associated therewith, and will reduce the likelihood that users who do not wish to encounter this content will do so.</p><p>The Government has also committed to introduce a new communications offence of intentionally encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, including eating disorders, where it meets the criminal threshold. Once introduced, companies will need to treat this content as illegal under the framework of the Bill, taking steps to remove this content once they become aware of it.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 06/03/2023 11:58:04 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4970 label Biography information for Lord Weir of Ballyholme

1599700

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
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	Internet: Pornography
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to ensuring that the Online Safety Bill empowers Ofcom to take action against any online services publishing illegal pornography, regardless of whether that content is user-generated or not.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL5944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2023 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill has been designed to bring into scope services which pose the greatest risk of harm to users, and where there is a gap in existing policy responses. Hosting, sharing and discovery of user-generated content give rise to a range of online harms and the Bill is therefore focused on user-to-user services which facilitate this harm. Search services are also in scope as they play a significant role in enabling individuals to access harmful content online.</p><p>User-to-user and search services will be required to implement systems and processes to minimise the uploading and sharing of priority illegal content on their services. This includes priority offences relating to sexual images, for example, revenge pornography and extreme pornography. Priority offences reflect the most serious and prevalent illegal content and activity, against which companies must take proactive measures.</p><p>Publishers of online content are already directly liable for offences which relate to the possession or distribution of illegal material such as extreme pornography. The criminal law is therefore the most appropriate mechanism for dealing with these providers rather than a regulatory regime, as it is not appropriate for Ofcom to duplicate the role of law enforcement.</p><p>The Online Safety Bill will also address children’s access to legal pornography through the Bill. It will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video sharing platforms, forums and search engines. These services will need to prevent children accessing pornography or face enforcement action. This includes content classified as extreme pornography or pornographic content which has been refused a classification by the British Board of Film Classification.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose grouped question UIN HL5946 question first answered 13/03/2023 16:48:41 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1599702

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
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	Internet: Pornography
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that violent and abusive pornography that would be prohibited from distribution offline is subject to equivalent controls online.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL5946
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2023 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill has been designed to bring into scope services which pose the greatest risk of harm to users, and where there is a gap in existing policy responses. Hosting, sharing and discovery of user-generated content give rise to a range of online harms and the Bill is therefore focused on user-to-user services which facilitate this harm. Search services are also in scope as they play a significant role in enabling individuals to access harmful content online.</p><p>User-to-user and search services will be required to implement systems and processes to minimise the uploading and sharing of priority illegal content on their services. This includes priority offences relating to sexual images, for example, revenge pornography and extreme pornography. Priority offences reflect the most serious and prevalent illegal content and activity, against which companies must take proactive measures.</p><p>Publishers of online content are already directly liable for offences which relate to the possession or distribution of illegal material such as extreme pornography. The criminal law is therefore the most appropriate mechanism for dealing with these providers rather than a regulatory regime, as it is not appropriate for Ofcom to duplicate the role of law enforcement.</p><p>The Online Safety Bill will also address children’s access to legal pornography through the Bill. It will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video sharing platforms, forums and search engines. These services will need to prevent children accessing pornography or face enforcement action. This includes content classified as extreme pornography or pornographic content which has been refused a classification by the British Board of Film Classification.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose grouped question UIN HL5944 question first answered 13/03/2023 16:48:41 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1599703

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
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	Internet: Pornography
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Online Safety Bill will enable the regulator to proactively assess online pornography services' compliance with age-verification requirements.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL5947
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2023 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill will deliver comprehensive protections for children from online pornography. All sites that offer pornography will need to put in place measures such as age verification to prevent children accessing pornographic content on their services or face enforcement action.</p><p>In assessing compliance or the risk of non-compliance, Ofcom will have wide-ranging information gathering and investigation powers. This includes the power to require information from companies and relevant third parties, the power to audit companies and interview employees, as well as enter and inspect companies’ premises and seize equipment and/or documents with a warrant. These powers will ensure that Ofcom is able to effectively assess whether companies are fulfilling their regulatory requirements.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 13/03/2023 16:46:39 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1600155

registered interest
date	28/02/2023
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	TikTok: Data Protection
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the data security threat posed by TikTok.
tabling member printed	Baroness Helic
uin	HL5988
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2023 answer text <p>The government does not routinely comment on security matters, but data security is paramount and we always take the requisite steps to protect data. We continue to monitor the threats to our data and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.</p><p>Like all businesses, we expect Tiktok to fully comply with our privacy laws (UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18). Organisations which fail to comply may be investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office and where appropriate subject to enforcement action, including fines.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 08/03/2023 12:13:25 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	4331 label Biography information for Baroness Helic