Craftspeople: European Union Travel and Trade

Debate between Lord Strasburger and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Monday 13th May 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Strasburger, is participating remotely.

[Lord Strasburger (LD) [V]]

My Lords, crippling restrictions on working in Europe are blighting the lives of 2 million people employed in our creative industries. This is because the Government completely omitted our largest sector after financial services from the Brexit trade deal, and then spent four years failing to fix their blunder. Will the Minister take this opportunity to apologise to those who previously had a career in music, dance, theatre or fashion but are now having to drive taxis or flip burgers?

Combating Disinformation: Freedom of Expression

Debate between Lord Strasburger and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Tuesday 13th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Strasburger]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to protect freedom of expression in the course of their work on combating disinformation.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Strasburger, is participating remotely.

[Lord Strasburger (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I draw the attention of the House to my role as chair of Big Brother Watch and beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

Vetting Social Media Accounts

Debate between Lord Strasburger and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Wednesday 21st June 2023 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

My Lords, we now have a virtual question from the noble Lord, Lord Strasburger.

[Lord Strasburger (LD) [V]]

My Lords, the cancel culture to which my noble friend referred in his original Question is just one illustration of the Government’s distaste for challenge and dissent. Other examples are the attempts to stop some workers expressing their views by industrial action, and the outrageous sanctioning of peaceful protest. Why are the Government so scared of citizens expressing their critical opinions?

Live Facial Recognition: Police Guidance

Debate between Lord Strasburger and Lord McFall of Alcluith

Monday 4th April 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

The noble Lord, Lord Strasburger, will now contribute remotely.

[Lord Strasburger (LD) [V]]

My Lords, this technology is used by the Chinese Government to micro-manage the lives of its citizens, so its use here needs strict rules and effective oversight. In the absence of legislation, the police have tried to regulate themselves by writing their own rules, but these are so vague that almost anything goes: targeting people who “may cause harm”, whatever that means. When will the Government do their job and legislate to control the risks of this technology?