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1543054

registered interest
date	16/11/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much from the public purse her Department has spent on (a) staff activity, (b) external research and advice, (c) public consultation and (d) stakeholder engagement on activities related to the Online Safety Bill since May 2018.
tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
uin	88888
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>Figures on DCMS’s public spending can be found in DCMS’s Annual Report and Accounts, available on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/" target="_blank">GOV.UK</a>. Spending relating to the Online Safety Bill is a subset of the reported spend of the Security and Online Harms Directorate.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 21/11/2022 16:23:05 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

1518950

registered interest
date	10/10/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the definition of legal but harmful in the Online Safety Bill.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	59033
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2022 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is currently reviewing the adult safety duties and the definition of content that is harmful to adults. This is to ensure that we strike the right balance between protecting users from harmful content online and protecting users’ rights to freedom of expression.</p> answering member constituency Folkestone and Hythe answering member printed Damian Collins question first answered 18/10/2022 09:17:35 answering member 3986 label Biography information for Damian Collins
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1520087

registered interest
date	10/10/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the voices and experiences (a) Molly Russell and (b) other children and families will be included in the creation of a new online regulatory system.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	59838
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2022 answer text <p>The experience of Molly Russell and her family highlights the importance of holding tech companies to account to keep their users, and in particular children, safe online. The Government has consulted widely, including with parents and children, to develop the new regulatory framework.</p><p>A set of statutory duties will be placed on Ofcom, requiring the regulator to conduct research and consult with users when carrying out their online safety duties. This includes the opinions and experiences of children, parents and families, which Ofcom will use when developing its codes of practice.</p><p>The Bill will also require companies to enable children, and their parents or guardians, to easily report harmful content and, where necessary for those companies to take action.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Folkestone and Hythe answering member printed Damian Collins question first answered 18/10/2022 09:10:12 answering member 3986 label Biography information for Damian Collins
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1465676

registered interest
date	25/05/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effects of the Online Safety Bill on requirements for voice recognition or other voice services to (a) remove illegal content from their services and (b) set terms and conditions to address legal but harmful content.
tabling member constituency	Putney
tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
uin	9185
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2022 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill will apply to all companies that allow users to post content online or to interact with each other. This will include a broad range of websites, apps and services, some of which will enable voice recognition. The Bill will make sure that the UK is the safest place to be online, requiring all in-scope companies to take robust action against illegal content.</p><p>Additionally, the largest and riskiest services will face additional duties, including specifying in their terms and conditions what measures they are taking for the most harmful content to adults, and must enforce these rules consistently.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 06/06/2022 13:20:01 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1465051

registered interest
date	23/05/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason Section 103, Chapter 8 of the Draft Online Safety Bill, relating to Media Literacy did not appear in the Online Safety Bill introduced on 11 May 2022; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Putney
tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
uin	6934
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2022 answer text <p>Ofcom has an existing statutory duty to promote media literacy under section 11 of the Communications Act (2003). Clause 103 of the draft Online Safety Bill clarified Ofcom’s responsibilities under this duty but did not grant Ofcom any new powers or duties. On 6 December 2021, ‘Ofcom’s Approach to Online Media Literacy’ was published. This strategy document published by Ofcom outlined its plans to expand its media literacy programme in a manner which substantially met the responsibilities set out in the draft Bill. As such, it is no longer necessary to include these clarifications in primary legislation.</p><p>The Online Safety Bill increases Ofcom’s powers relating to media literacy. Ofcom’s transparency reporting and information gathering powers cover media literacy and give Ofcom enhanced oversight on industry spend and activity. DCMS’s Secretary of State has powers to direct Ofcom’s media literacy activity in special circumstances, for example where there is a significant threat to public health as a result of health misinformation. The Bill also directs in-scope companies to consider measures to promote users’ media literacy as part of the risk assessment process.</p><p>Media literacy remains a vital part of the government’s agenda to support online safety. In April 2022 the government published its second Media Literacy Action Plan which sets out an ambitious expansion of its media literacy programme, supported by over £2m of funding.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 26/05/2022 07:27:28 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1461641

registered interest
date	10/05/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Bill in ensuring that content moderators working for social media companies have adequate mental health support, regardless of their location.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	241
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2022 answer text <p>The Online Safety Bill will require social media companies to put in place appropriate content moderation systems to comply with their new statutory duties. It does not replace or duplicate existing employment or health and safety laws that may be relevant to companies’ obligations in regards to the health and wellbeing of their employees.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 16/05/2022 08:31:07 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1452858

registered interest
date	21/03/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the Online Safety Bill on the effectiveness of the regulation of harmful online content.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	143605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2022 answer text <p>This legislation will create a significant step-change in the experience people have online. The Bill will tackle illegal content and activity; protect children; and give adults greater control of their online experiences, while protecting freedom of expression. The Bill’s systems and processes approach will hold companies to account for holistically considering the design and operation of their services, rather than just responding to events. As a result the Bill will instil a culture of proactive safety and risk management, which will have a substantial positive impact on the regulation of harmful online content.</p><p>The Regulatory Policy Committee has issued the Online Safety Bill Impact Assessment with a fit for purpose rating. The Impact Assessment estimated, conservatively, that the Bill will need to reduce a subset of quantified online harms by roughly 2% annually to offset the costs created by the Bill.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 29/03/2022 10:11:39 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1440896

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the security of the technology underpinning the proposals for verification for accessing adult content in the Online Safety Bill.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	139506
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2022 answer text <p>Age verification technologies are well established and are widely used across a number of sectors, including online gambling. They are proven to be able to verify a user’s age whilst protecting both their privacy and data. This government takes the issue of data privacy and security extremely seriously and that is why safeguards for users’ privacy are included in the Online Safety Bill. Furthermore, the Data Protection Act 2018 sets high standards of data protection and security and includes strong sanctions for malpractice. This will apply to age verification technologies. Both services in-scope of online safety regulation and age verification providers must comply with data protection laws or face enforcement action from the Information Commissioner’s Office.</p><p>Many third party age verification solutions provide an anonymised yes/no answer to the question of whether a user is over 18. This can remove the need for a service to process a user’s personal data.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 21/03/2022 09:18:55 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1440897

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what measures the Online Safety Bill contains to ensure that legal but harmful online content cannot be accessed through Virtual Private Networks.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	139507
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2022 answer text <p>Under the Online Safety Bill, tech companies will have to put in place proportionate and effective systems and processes to protect children from harmful content.</p><p>Legislation will not require the removal of legal but harmful content accessed by adults. The biggest tech companies will be held to account for the consistent enforcement of their terms and conditions.</p><p>The onus will be on companies to ensure that their systems are sufficiently effective. Ofcom will be able to take robust enforcement action against companies that fail to fulfil their duties to keep children safe.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 21/03/2022 09:21:13 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1434038

registered interest
date	22/02/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Internet: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her timetable is for the introduction of the Online Safety Bill to Parliament.
tabling member constituency	Waveney
tabling member printed	Peter Aldous
uin	127388
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2022 answer text <p>In May we published the Online Safety Bill in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny. Pre-legislative scrutiny finished on 14 December, when the Joint Committee reported with its recommendations. The DCMS sub-Committee and the Petitions Committee have both since also published reports relating to the Bill. Our intention remains to introduce the Bill as soon as possible, subject to the parliamentary timetable.</p><p>We have listened to stakeholders’ and parliamentarians’ views and have already announced several major policy changes to the Bill as a result. These include strengthening and clarifying the approach to illegal content, and widening the scope of the Bill to ensure that all pornography websites will have a duty to protect children from accessing their sites. We expect companies to take steps now to improve safety, and not wait for the legislation to come into force before acting.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 25/02/2022 10:56:30 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4069 label Biography information for Peter Aldous