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1671510

registered interest
date	20/11/2023
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require websites to verify that every person featured in pornographic content on their platform (a) is an adult and (b) gave their permission for the content to be published on that platform.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
tabling member printed	Dame Diana Johnson
uin	2539
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2023 answer text <p>Any material featuring the sexual exploitation and abuse of children is captured by the criminal law. The Online Safety Act, which received Royal Assent on 26 October, requires in-scope services to put in place proactive, preventative measures to limit people’s exposure to child sexual exploitation and abuse content and remove it expeditiously. The Act will also bring in a new offence for intimate image abuse, which will criminalise the sharing of intimate images or films without consent.</p><p>Additionally, the government has committed to undertaking a review of pornography legislation, regulation and enforcement, which will assess whether the regulation of online pornography in the UK is fit for purpose in tackling exploitation and abuse.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 23/11/2023 17:19:02 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

1600157

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	Internet: Pornography
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how effective the enforcement procedures in the Online Safety Bill will be in relation to operators of online pornography services.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL6004
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2023 answer text <p>In the event of non-compliance, Ofcom will have the necessary powers to take appropriate and proportionate enforcement action to secure compliance from all services in scope of the Online Safety framework, including operators of online pornography services. This includes the power to require companies to take certain steps, the power to issue large fines, and powers to disrupt the ability of companies to operate in the UK.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 08/03/2023 12:13:57 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1599698

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Internet: Pornography
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 effectiveness of existing laws in preventing the distribution of illegal content, including extreme pornography and prohibited images of children, via online services.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL5942
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2023 answer text <p>Online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) is an appalling crime that this government is committed to stamping out.</p><p> </p><p>The UK already has some of the most robust legislation in the world to combat online child sexual abuse.</p><p> </p><p>Possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment. In addition, the offence of taking, making, distribution and possession with a view to distribution of any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child under 18 carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, we have strengthened legislation to ensure that those who arrange (or facilitate) to meet a child under the age of 13 for sexual purposes receive sentences commensurate to their crimes. In the PCSC Act, we have amended Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to include offences against children under 13 (Sections 5-8) and increased the maximum sentence from 14 years to life imprisonment.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is bringing forward the Online Safety Bill, which will require user-to-user and search services to tackle illegal content. The most stringent obligations relate to child sexual abuse and exploitation. Companies will be required to introduce proactive measures to prevent their users from encountering priority illegal content. This includes extreme pornography and child sexual abuse material.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 13/03/2023 17:50:59 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

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

1403224

registered interest
date	17/01/2022
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: Pornography
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 implications for her policies of France and Germany introducing compulsory age verification for adult content online.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	105582
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2022 answer text <p>The threat posed by online harms is global. The UK, France, Germany and the EU have similar objectives in our efforts to protect our citizens, including children. We work closely with France and Germany in the G7 and were pleased to see the agreement of Internet Safety Principles under our Presidency of the G7 in 2021. We are watching the development of the EU Digital Services Act with interest.</p><p>Our engagement with international partners on online harms includes the key issues of child online safety and the use of age verification. Protecting children was one of the agreed G7 Internet Safety Principles.</p><p>The strongest protections in the Online Safety Bill will be for children. Age assurance technologies, including age verification solutions, are a valuable child safety tool and will play an important role in supporting the Bill. Ofcom will take a robust approach to sites that pose the highest risk of harm to children, including sites hosting online pornography. This may include recommending the use of age verification technologies to prevent children from accessing pornography content.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/01/2022 12:31:07 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1403226

registered interest
date	17/01/2022
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: Pornography
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 merits of extending Ofcom's powers to include the regulation of commercial pornography sites which do not implement safety by design and age verification.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	105583
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2022 answer text <p>The strongest protections in the draft Online Safety Bill are for children. Companies in scope of the legislation which are likely to be accessed by children will need to take steps to prevent children from accessing content which poses the highest risk of harm, including online pornography. Ofcom will set out in its codes of practice the steps companies need to take to comply with their duties under the Bill which we expect will include the use of age verification technologies.</p><p>The draft Bill covers many of the most visited pornography sites, social media platforms, video-sharing sites, forums and via search engines - thereby capturing many of the sites through which children access pornography.</p><p>The Government recognises the concerns that have been raised about online pornography on services which do not currently fall within the scope of the Bill. We are giving careful consideration to the Committee’s recommendations and remain committed to introducing the Bill as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/01/2022 12:33:27 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1403227

registered interest
date	17/01/2022
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: Pornography
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 she is taking to ensure that the Online Safety Bill will result in a measurable improvement in the protection of children from online pornography.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	105584
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2022 answer text <p>The strongest protections in the draft Online Safety Bill are for children. Services in scope of the legislation which are likely to be accessed by children will need to take steps to prevent children from accessing content which poses the highest risk of harm, including online pornography. The draft Bill covers many of the most-visited pornography sites, social media platforms, video-sharing sites, forums and via search engines - thereby capturing many of the sites through which children access pornography.</p><p>The Government recognises the concerns that have been raised, including from the Joint Committee scrutinising the draft Online Safety Bill, about protecting children from online pornography on services which do not currently fall within the scope of the Bill.</p><p>Ofcom will set out in its codes of practice the steps companies need to take to comply with their duties under the Bill. Ofcom will have a range of information and transparency powers which it will use to understand whether companies are meeting their safety duties. These will help build an understanding of the impact that the framework is having on users, including children.</p><p>The Bill includes the requirement that the Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport must undertake a review on the effectiveness of the regulatory framework, two to five years after it comes into force, producing a report which will then be laid in Parliament. This review must consider how effective the regulatory framework is at providing higher levels of protection for children than for adults.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/01/2022 12:36:57 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1402116

registered interest
date	11/01/2022
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: Pornography
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) Age Appropriate Design Code to apply to providers of online pornography; and, if not, what plans they have to (1) direct the ICO, or (2) legislate in this area.
tabling member printed	Baroness Merron
uin	HL5330
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2022 answer text <p>The Age Appropriate Design Code sets out the privacy standards companies must adopt when offering online services that are likely to be accessed by children. If a service is one that children should not be using, such as a pornography service, the Code does not apply. It is the government’s view that the focus of such a service should be on how to prevent children’s access to it rather than undertaking a data protection impact assessment with the aim of making the service child-friendly.</p><p>The Online Safety Bill will deliver comprehensive protections for children from accessing pornography by placing new duties on in-scope companies to protect children from harmful content online. The Bill will cover many of the most visited pornography sites, social media, video sharing platforms, forums and search engines, thereby capturing sites through which a large proportion of children access pornography. We recognise the concerns that have been raised about protecting children from online pornography on services which do not currently fall within the scope of the Bill. We are exploring ways to provide wider protections for children from accessing online pornography through the Bill.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 25/01/2022 15:32:15 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	347 label Biography information for Baroness Merron