Online Safety Bill

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 1st February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, what a privilege it is to follow so many distinguished noble Lords, and in particular the speech of my noble friend Lord Sarfraz.

Our deliberation is ever more imperative, given the latest heightened and explicit concerns stated in the Children’s Commissioner’s report on young people and pornography. As a social worker, I have witnessed first hand the devastating aftermath and the lifelong impact of child sexual abuse and violence, long before children possessed the internet in their hands and pockets, and big tech companies used algorithms for content, evidently enticing children towards dangerous cycles of harm.

The backdrop of this Bill is the aim to make Britain a global leader for digital business while ensuring that it is the safest place online, and to navigate the balance between protecting consumers and stimulating innovation in a fast-moving digital world that can preserve safety and enhance freedom of speech without compromising one or the other. At a time of deepening and detrimental public services cuts, achieving best outcomes for the legislation will require considerable financial resources, impactful monitoring and skilled oversight. The Bill will address many of the anomalies and flaws that plague the current system and stop its preventing harms, as authoritatively detailed by my noble friend Lady Kidron. I salute her and acknowledge the presence of Mr Ian Russell. I too was horrified on hearing the briefing.

I welcome this opportunity to ensure that platforms are held accountable for their interactions with users, even chatbots. I also value innovations, emerging technologies and the right to freedom of expression, but, cognisant of the evident danger presented by many platforms, government cannot be the protector of profits to the detriment of young minds and lives. Big tech platforms have resisted remedies, including identity assurance and age verification. Therefore, I will definitely be supporting my noble friend Lady Kidron and the noble Lord, Lord Bethell—unless Government concede beforehand. I cannot support preserving anonymity as a shield of protection for any subscribers, content-makers and users. If we end anonymity, it will be a huge leap in monitoring harmful content and traceability.

As co-chair of the APPG on the metaverse and web 3.0, working with stakeholders in this space, I recognise the power of innovative technology as a force for good. At the same time, as a social worker, I want to scream out loud its threat. If we do not address the gravity of harmful content that normalises children viewing extreme material on violent pornography, diet, sexual exploitation, self-harm and revenge porn that shapes their young minds, we will have abdicated our role as protector of standards. Statistics from the NSPCC, Barnardo’s, Big Brother Watch and the Internet Watch Foundation, on unprecedented and worsening levels of online access to material on grooming, sexual abuse, self-harm, bulimia and millions of unfiltered pieces of content, make horrific reading.

Many NGOs are fearful that Ofcom is not fit to address these complex matters without incorporating children’s views into regulatory decision-making and, more importantly, to counterbalance the big tech lobbyists, their infinite resources and proficiency at skewing available data on child safety. I agree that Ofcom needs strengthening and must work with safeguarding experts to uphold standards, but it must also identify and respond to the evolving nature of harms across multidimensional interconnected platforms and a plethora of small, less well-moderated operators to ensure that children’s safety and voices are not drowned out by large tech companies whose business models are not predicated on protection and thorough risk assessment.

The APPG on the metaverse and web 3.0 wants to see children’s views prioritised, and we intend to incorporate them into our reports and programmes. Our partners are also considering the balance between safeguarding and the opportunity for increasing diversity within social media companies, recognising the historical disfranchisement and exclusion prevalent within the first wave of the social media revolution platforms. There is promise on the horizon from the newcomers —the smaller, emerging generation of conscientious organisations and companies that are proactive in engaging local communities, and inclusive in their approach. Widening participation will require institutions to consider workforce training in this sector.

Finally, the online safety Bill may not prevent all children accessing harmful content as this new virtual space becomes more sophisticated within the infinite metaverse and artificial intelligence space. We will need to respond smartly to this rapidly shifting national and international digital environment of emerging technology, placing the safety of children at the forefront of our consideration.

UEFA Euro 2020 Final

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Certainly, as I have done when we have previously discussed this, I condemn the actions of a minority of people—in lots of instances, fuelled by alcohol—which spoiled the day for the law-abiding majority who wanted to go and enjoy the match. Of course, alcohol consumption at football matches has been considered by Tracey Crouch and the fan-led review, which also made the point that allowing clubs in the lower leagues to sell alcohol might give them an important sustainable income stream. We are considering the recommendations that she has made, and will bring forward views in due course.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord. Has the Minister considered ensuring that we share some intelligence and data from the games that have been played in Qatar, from their impactful management of fans, and apply that to lessons for our application for 2028? Can I also take the opportunity to congratulate England on a wonderful win last night?

Freedom of Expression (Communications and Digital Committee Report)

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, with the blurring of edges between physical, digital and virtual as technology advances into the metaverse and Web3, the committee is right to demand an immediate setting of standards. To commend the members of the committee would be an understatement; I express my admiration for what is a thorough examination of this plethora of subjects.

Freedom of speech in any context is a valiant aspiration. The fact is that each aspect of our freedom has consequences and impact. None of us should be entitled to a set of freedoms that disregards the well-being of others, or that is detrimental to others and predicated on harms to others. In the absence of defining a set of boundaries and values for that freedom, we will certainly need to consider guidance, although exploring the parameters of what common values can be regulated and safeguarded without defining them is a problem.

I am chair of the APPG on the Metaverse and Web 3.0. We have recently conducted meetings with the leading innovators and entrepreneurs in this space, those who are transitioning from Web2 to Web3 within the emerging technologies. Their overall view is that it is vast and fast in this decentralised space, and that we may be running late to regulate the industry. It is important to prevent conglomerates, elite one-man bandwagons like Facebook, Google and Twitter, becoming the key holders of our data and the future of our young, without including them as stakeholders and entrepreneurs within the sector, and we are already at an advanced stage of building systems without any recourse to accountability and transparency. The concerns are well laid out in the report on page 19, with the evidence presented to the committee. Our APPG wishes to add to the committee’s work by bringing together practitioners, academics and NGOs who are cognisant of the impact on young people playing Roblox, or vulnerable young people stuck in virtual reality.

The possibility of innovation being a common good for society is immense, as I experienced this week with a WPP event where I stepped into a virtual world of Singapore and South Africa. It was a powerful experience, but nothing can replace experiencing the countries’ air, beauty and interactions with people.

Even in this new, decentralised arena, inclusion is not a reality for those who may most benefit from, and need, support, virtual or otherwise. The report eloquently emphasises the issues of content, but without an acceptable definition of false or harmful content it would be difficult for Ofcom or other regulatory bodies to take any actions. Use of Facebook by the Burmese extremists to spread hate against the Rohingyas may have assisted the brutal murder, torture and rape of hundreds of thousands of people. The Rohingyas have filed a suit against Facebook; no one knows what the outcome will be. Closer to home, the dirty tactics of Cambridge Analytica remind us that the world is an advertiser’s oyster when the selling of our data goes without adequate public knowledge and education.

I recently tried to buy a photobook for my grandchildren on Google, and when it came for the time to pay, suddenly a pop-up said, “All your data, including email contact, will be available”. I was rather disturbed; I was flabbergasted. It seems that anything is acceptable in this space. I find the intrusion from one purchasing one item rather unnerving, to say the least, and members of the public may be unwittingly agreeing to things without informed consent, with data often being sold onwards.

I have much to add on the social impact of this matter. Suffice it to say that, as a child protection officer, my antennae are permanently engaged on exploitation of children and vulnerable adults. I have witnessed too many times the devastating effect of child sexual abuse and exposure to pornography. The digital space is open for paedophiles to go beyond current imagination, allowing them to create a virtual reality of children raping children and of extreme violence against women, not to mention the demonisation of certain religious groups and women—these are alarmingly rampant. A witness to the committee has highlighted many of these.

It is refreshing that young developers and innovators are all too keenly aware of the issues, and I am confident that their work is a good example. They are very keen to work in partnership with institutions and government, as well as NGOs, and many are acutely aware of their responsibility.

[Lord Davies of Gower (Con)]

I remind the noble Baroness of the time limit on speeches.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

I just want to ask a question and then I am done. I appreciate the leniency of the House.

Where the devices are becoming more accessible, how can we ensure freedom of speech for our citizens, considering the potential for hacking and stolen data? If much of our social activities move to the metaverse, how can we safeguard users against cyberbullying and sexual exploitation, particularly of children? How will the pornography industry be regulated and monitored, as experiences in this space become more immersive?

Youth Sport Trust Report

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Tuesday 11th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My department is working with the Department for Education to make sure that there is school sport and activity. On the wider point, it is important to recognise that, sometimes, sport is not just about activity and getting fit but about bringing communities together where there are divisions. There are a number of projects involving people who have been excluded from school where sport is brought into the classroom to encourage them to get better results at school. A few years ago, I went to see a project where sport was used to stop young kids being radicalised. Sport is a powerful force for bringing people together and addressing some of the problems we see in our society.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am delighted to echo some of the questions from the noble Baroness, Lady Gohir, regarding girls’ sport. What are the Government doing about the fact that one in three children leave school without learning to swim, and what will the Minister do to ensure that all sports bodies reflect this country’s diversity?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

The noble Baroness makes a very important point. We have to make sure that sports bodies represent the whole range of our communities and are not focused on elite sports or one particular community. I was contacted last week by a project that wanted to help more Afro-Caribbean people to swim— I think it is called Black People Can Swim. It is a fantastic project. I have asked my department to look at how we can have discussions with them to help make sure that we encourage more people from different communities to get involved in physical activity and sport.

Clearview AI Inc

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. There is a comprehensive legal framework for police use of live facial recognition, which includes ensuring that it is proportionate and necessary. Generally, the police can use that technology without people’s consent only where it is strictly necessary for law enforcement purposes. The College of Policing has rightly produced national guidance on this important issue.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I live in the borough of Tower Hamlets. The borough next to it —Newham, where I grew up—is among those with the greatest number of video cameras, surveying its citizens in all their various aspects. The Minister has just said that he is well aware of the risks and opportunities presented by new and emerging technologies. What are he and the Government doing seriously to ensure that consent, education and awareness are a central part of all the strategies and actions implemented?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

CCTV can help people to feel safe on the streets and can help in the prosecution of crimes committed against people. We support the police using new technologies to keep the public safe, and we are simplifying the oversight of biometric and overt surveillance technologies such as CCTV cameras. The ICO will continue to provide independent oversight and regulation of all biometrics and surveillance camera use, including by the police.

Suicide: Online Products

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The CMA, the FCA, the ICO and Ofcom all play a critical role through the Digital Regulation Co-operation Forum, which has an important role to play in delivering the regulatory landscape that protects users from harm. We will continue to work with that forum to explore the role that it and the regulators can have. Of course, these days almost all citizens are consumers online, but the noble Lord makes an important point. We want to make sure that everybody who uses the internet is safe.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am really grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan, for raising this important matter. What work is under way to ensure that the Online Safety Bill is being taken seriously by the major platforms on which these systems lie? What are the Government intending to do to ensure that parents are educated in, and made aware of, the danger of these kind of platforms?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The strongest protections in the Online Safety Bill will be for children. The noble Baroness is right that there is an important part for parents and guardians to play in making sure that their children are safe online. We are working through Ofcom and the education system to make sure that children and their guardians are aware of the risks of using the internet and the safeguards available. The Online Safety Bill will make sure that people’s recourse to Ofcom, if the terms and conditions or duties that are placed on companies are not being enforced, is upheld.

Media Literacy

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Monday 20th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

It is about equipping users to decide for themselves what is truthful and giving them the critical skills to look inquisitively at the material that they see online, which often conflicts with other sources, and make their mind up. That was an important skill long before people received information from the internet. It applies just as much to traditional media, such as books and other areas of learning, but is particularly important online.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I want to follow on from the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. Given that we are talking about the safety of children and vulnerable people, to what extent will Ofcom’s duty incorporate the broad range of emerging technologies such as the metaverse and Web3, which include virtual reality and facial recognition?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, the strongest protections in the Online Safety Bill are for children. We are making sure that, through that Bill, we are protecting young people from harmful or inappropriate content such as grooming, bullying, pornography and the promotion of self-harm and eating disorders. There are many provisions in the Bill looking at these.

Freedom of Speech

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Friday 10th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, it is such a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. I thank her for her outstanding championship in this regard. I am sure that if the Government have not listened, they will soon.

I am grateful too to the most reverend Primate for calling us together to consider this precious gift of freedom of speech and citing the critical pillar of interfaith work which takes place in all corners of our communities. At a glance, it can be argued that we have advanced in the freedom of expression that we enjoy, heralded by the heroic efforts of the suffragette, civil rights and disability movements, which have achieved fundamental transformation of our social, legal, cultural and political system, with embedded presumptions of the indispensable rights of individual liberty, choice and freedom of expression, belief and practice.

Like all noble Lords, I hold these values dear to my heart, underpinned by the formative years of childhood experience which instilled principles of valuing, respect and love of neighbours and friends whose faith was different from that of my family—a family that experienced the wrath and threat of far-right fascists over a prolonged period. At the same time, as a person in public life, I am also all too aware that others’ freedom of speech and expression towards me and my faith is often loaded with preconceived presumptions, value judgments and interpretation.

Therefore, I am compelled to agree with the most reverend Primate that in our society there is still a great discrepancy and power imbalance in who is deemed fit to have freedom of expression. During my 24 years in this House, I have regrettably witnessed significant parts of our communities feeling disempowered and disconnected, with their rights and freedoms eroded as result of the way we do business in Parliament.

It has been clear to see that the most vulnerable in our society—the elderly, the disabled and minority women and communities—remain absent in reality and unable to access adequate resources or influence social policy. Consequently, for vast sections of our communities, the realisation of freedom of expression rings hollow, belied by marginalisation and discrimination and with an extremely limited prospect of experiencing meaningful change.

Over recent months, I have had the honour of working with a number of women-led NGOs, particularly within smaller community sectors, which strive to advocate social justice. Time and again, they share the same frustration of not being able to engage or influence decision-makers for the betterment of their local communities or to help improve the life chances of the vulnerable. We know why: we still have a culture of who is seen and judged as the acceptable face of civic society leadership, with the majority of NGOs that are well funded and considered successful remaining in white and male leadership, even in geographical areas where large, well-established minority populations exist and thrive. Therefore, lack of effective and representative leadership is one of the prevailing challenges that impact on societal changes, which continue and maintain the deficit in the economic, social and political empowerment, particularly of women—a central tenet of our national and international aspirations.

We have spoken often in this Chamber about the gaping hole in paper strategies and polices that do not match reality on the ground, where freedom of expression is challenged and more constrained. The result is that some sections of our communities do not enjoy parity of rights and do not feel of equal value as citizens.

If the question for our consideration today is what our precious libertarian advances and freedoms have done to improve our overall conditions, the jury is out on whether citizens are able to overcome the long- standing, pervasive inequalities and barriers, as well as discrimination, which inevitably impede these rights.

The other consideration is the challenge of managing the Covid virus. We have witnessed and are experiencing seismic changes to the characteristics of our freedom, liberty, rights and choices as Covid legislation tears through our democratic processes. They are being replaced by extraordinary processes of executive decision-making, leading to structural inequalities, social upheaval and discrimination, resulting in significant sections of our communities already feeling excluded, as we are yet again considering emergency measures, including vaccine passports, which are likely to prevent citizens accessing statutory services and jobs if they cannot provide proof of vaccination. I will do my utmost to uphold my right to object to these measures.

I need not tell this House how difficult it has been to get information and data out of Ministers on what has led to the deaths of thousands of elderly and disabled people. Perplexing questions remain about DNR decisions made about those with disabilities without consulting their families. These are important considerations in upholding citizens’ rights and trust in democratic governance. My misgivings are even greater when I wonder where future decision-making will take us. Even as Members of this House, we have sometimes failed to safeguard these precious democratic values and restraints on the Government. They continue to impose some of the most draconian regulations and an endless list of measures curtailing freedom of movement, prohibiting assembly, segregating by geographical tier system, and using drone technology for surveillance by police forces, disproportionately against Black Lives Matters protests. We seem to have given up on education and informed choice. As we assemble, Parliament is being asked to endorse regulations that contravene the right of choice: the Covid passport may exclude vulnerable people from receiving care and support. Questions arise about how we hold our Government responsible, given the evident absence of the accountability which is the linchpin in upholding democracy and freedom.

I suggest that our civil liberties are under serious threat when police forces feel that it is now legitimate to use drones to monitor and film perfectly legal public protests; that includes the disproportionate use of technology against Black Lives Matter.

This conversation is reassuring and it is comforting that, as a collective, we remain ever vigilant and determined to safeguard our fundamental and absolute right of freedom of speech and expression, while at the same ensuring that we protect those who may suffer injustice and discrimination.

Racism in Sport

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Tuesday 13th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I am happy to write to the noble Lord and address any other points that he wishes to make. The Investigatory Powers Act allows police to acquire communications data such as an email address and the location of the device from which illegal anonymous abuse is sent, which can be used as evidence in court. We hope that this will act as a clear deterrent in future.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, like my grandsons and my granddaughter, I loved every England game. For me, football did come home to unify a divided nation, which stood with the profoundly thoughtful leadership of Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane and with magnificent players like Shaw, Grealish, Saka, Rashford, Sancho, Mount, and the man of many matches, Raheem Sterling.

Given their and our message that there is no place in our sports or institutions for racism and Islamophobia, with hindsight, does the Prime Minister regret his divisive and disrespectful comments? Will the Minister say what additional action the PM and the Government are taking to eradicate institutionalised structural racism and Islamophobia and its devastating impact in all aspects of our conduct and policy? They should take a leaf out of the England team’s efforts—

[The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park) (Con)]

My Lords, I am sorry, but can we please keep questions short? It is extremely disrespectful to the rest of the House.

Data Protection Act 2018: Children

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 4th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Lord makes an important point, particularly in relation to adtech. As he will be aware, the ICO has recently reopened its investigation into it, which it had to pause last year because of Covid-19 constraints. If it is to be effective, our media literacy strategy needs to cover all these points, including giving children and their parents an understanding of how their data is used.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, among millions of disadvantaged parents and children, awareness of data protection and online harms in general is very fragmented. Could the Minister assure the House that the children consulted came from all sorts of backgrounds to give a broader picture? Does she agree that we cannot leave it to parents and teachers to manage the complexity of data protection—particularly in the context of online harms and safeguarding children from grooming and sexual exploitation—without government leadership with structural safety legislation?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Baroness is right that it is important that we always talk to a wide range of children, which we always seek to do. She is also right that the responsibility to sort this out should not fall to the child or parents; really, we need this to be addressed much earlier on, which is one of the reasons that, in addition to the age-appropriate design code, the Government are developing a one-stop shop to give companies practical guidance about keeping children safer online.