Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
Debate between Liz Kendall and Sarah Pochin(3 weeks ago)
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Liz Kendall
Yes, and I urge my hon. Friend to send us details of those opinions so that we can ensure they are heard loud and clear.
Sarah Pochin (Runcorn and Helsby) (Reform)
Will the Secretary of State confirm to the House that the Government have no intention of introducing criminal sanctions against parents or guardians of children who access social media through parental accounts?
Liz Kendall
The hon. Lady has got this wrong, but her party wants to scrap the Online Safety Act 2023, and that says everything about Reform.
Liz Kendall
I hope that the action we took last week on Grok shows that the enforcement of existing laws is absolutely paramount. We will definitely be learning from the experience in Australia, not just about how the policy was developed and the definition of social media there, but about enforcement. I am more than happy to report back to the House on that.
Many colleagues have been unable to get on this statement, and I am sure that there are others who want to feed in their views. I really do want to hear from colleagues. We will certainly be organising events in the House for colleagues to come together, and they can also contact the Department to put forward the views of their constituents. That is my job: I am a member of this Labour Government but also the Secretary of State for the country. I believe that, when we get this right, it will be a legacy of which we can be proud.
Sarah Pochin
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In response to my perfectly reasonable question, the Secretary of State said I had “got this wrong”. She did not explain in what way exactly I had got it wrong. Does she not agree that all Members in this Chamber—
Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes
Debate between Liz Kendall and Sarah Pochin(4 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Liz Kendall
Let me just keep to the point about AI chatbots. We are confident that some are covered by the legislation, but officials have told me that they believe some are not. I am currently working this issue through. I want to move swiftly, but I want this work to be effective, for all the reasons we have said. I am happy to meet with my hon. Friend to discuss that further.
Sarah Pochin (Runcorn and Helsby) (Reform)
Given the devastating harm caused by non-consensual sexual deepfakes and the reality that the Online Safety Act is ineffective against international social media platforms, how will the Secretary of State ensure the immediate removal of this material? How will she deliver practical support to women and girls from the moment that they become victims?
Liz Kendall
By backing the law, not calling for it to be scrapped, which is what the hon. Lady’s party wants.