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.