Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of (a) children and (b) adults who access the internet through a virtual private network.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government does not hold this information. However, Ofcom’s Technology Tracker (2024) indicates that 30% of the UK’s population over 16 years old has connected to the internet using a virtual private network (VPN) for work, education or other purposes. This increases to 38% for 16-17 year olds. This data does not demonstrate how regularly respondents use VPNs to access the internet.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to bring forward a code of practice regarding violence against women and girls online.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Act (OSA) gives online user-to-user services and search service providers new safety duties. They will need to take steps to tackle illegal content and protect children. The major social media platforms – known as ‘Category 1 services’ in the Act – will also be required to take steps to enforce their terms of service and offer user empowerment tools. As the regulator for the OSA, Ofcom will set out steps providers can take for their different duties in codes of practice and guidance. This will include steps for content which disproportionately affects women and girls.
Ofcom will also produce guidance summarising all the measures it has recommended in its different codes of practice and guidance that will protect women and girls. This guidance will ensure it is easy for platforms to implement holistic and effective protections for women and girls, across their various OSA duties.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment of the Brexit Freedoms Bill in accordance with the public sector equality duty or (b) demonstrate due regard to equality in another way.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The equality impact assessment for the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill was published on 22 September 2022. This is available on the Bill page on www.parliament.uk via the following weblink: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0156/REUL_Bill_Impact_Assessment_22-09-2022.pdf.