Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what reasons the UK has not joined Horizon Europe; and what her planned timescale is for negotiating the UK’s association to Horizon Europe.
Answered by George Freeman
On 7th September, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would associate to Horizon Europe. The Government has negotiated a bespoke deal in the UK’s national interest and UK scientists can participate confidently in Horizon Europe, the world’s largest programme of research cooperation.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what purpose the Counter Disinformation Unit was formed.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) leads the UK government’s operational response to domestic disinformation threats online, ensuring the government takes necessary steps to identify and respond to harmful misinformation and disinformation.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department provided to the Counter Disinformation Unit in each year since that Unit's formation.
Answered by Paul Scully
Addressing the challenges of disinformation is a whole of the government effort. The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) is a team within the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) which works in close partnership with other government teams. Requirements are continually reviewed to ensure appropriate levels of resourcing, including surge capacity as needed. It would not be appropriate to comment on funding levels publicly as doing so would give malign actors insight into the scale of our capabilities.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report by Big Brother Watch entitled Ministry of Truth: The Secretive Government Units Spying On Your Speech, published in January 2023.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) monitors narratives, trends and attempts to artificially manipulate the information environment online. It does not monitor individuals, however the content reviewed may incidentally include personal data, such as names and social media handles embedded within content published on publicly available sites. The CDU has a legal basis for collecting or processing any personal data as set out in Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR, and the processing is necessary for us in our work as a public body and in the public interest.
Freedom of expression and the media are essential qualities of any functioning democracy; people must be allowed to discuss and debate issues freely. The CDU’s role is not to spot every instance of disinformation but where harmful content is identified in the course of the CDU’s work which may breach a platform Terms of Service, this may be referred to the relevant platform who will consider whether or not to take any action. The CDU’s work is consistent with the Government’s principles and values on protecting freedom of expression and promoting a free, open, and secure internet and as such no action is taken on any content originating from journalists or politicians.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Counter Disinformation Unit has collected information on (a) sitting Members, (b) former Members, (c) political activists and (d) political organisations since the Unit's formation.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) monitors narratives, trends and attempts to artificially manipulate the information environment online. It does not monitor individuals, however the content reviewed may incidentally include personal data, such as names and social media handles embedded within content published on publicly available sites. The CDU has a legal basis for collecting or processing any personal data as set out in Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR, and the processing is necessary for us in our work as a public body and in the public interest.
Freedom of expression and the media are essential qualities of any functioning democracy; people must be allowed to discuss and debate issues freely. The CDU’s role is not to spot every instance of disinformation but where harmful content is identified in the course of the CDU’s work which may breach a platform Terms of Service, this may be referred to the relevant platform who will consider whether or not to take any action. The CDU’s work is consistent with the Government’s principles and values on protecting freedom of expression and promoting a free, open, and secure internet and as such no action is taken on any content originating from journalists or politicians.