Online Safety Bill

John Hayes Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Ms Dorries]

I will take just two more interventions and that will be it, otherwise people will not have a chance to speak.

[Sir John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) (Con)]

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way. The internet giants that run the kind of awful practices that she has described have for too long been unaccountable, uncaring and unconscionable in the way they have fuelled every kind of spite and fed every kind of bigotry. Will she go further in this Bill and ensure that, rather like any other publisher, if those companies are prepared to allow anonymous posts, they are held accountable for those posts and subject to the legal constraints that a broadcaster or newspaper would face?

[Ms Dorries]

These online giants will be held accountable to their own terms and conditions. They will be unable any longer to allow illegal content to be published, and we will also be listing in secondary legislation offences that will be legal but harmful. We will be holding those tech giants to account.