Audiovisual Media Services (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Lord Brougham and Vaux Excerpts

Friday 27th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Clement-Jones (LD) [V]]

My Lords, today’s SI is a bit of a sideshow compared to the important revised AVMS regulations which came into effect on the first of this month, but it is an opportunity to raise a number of issues. I welcome the transposition of these duties on internet platforms into UK law; the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, spelled out clearly why they are needed. I found the impact assessment for the main regulations refreshingly clear—indeed, it was refreshing to have an impact assessment. My noble friend Lord Foster is in the driving seat for our Benches on these regulations today, so I will confine myself to just a few questions to the Minister.

As the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee asked, who, after the transition period, will regulate to our satisfaction services available in the UK but based elsewhere? Ofcom’s interim plans for regulation of VSPs are limited by country of origin. There are crucial issues about services regulated outside the UK, such as ODPs such as Netflix, regulated in the Netherlands, and VSPs such as YouTube, regulated in Ireland. What happens, in particular, in the event of a no-deal Brexit? That leads to the question of the nature of our future relationship with the ERGA, the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services, which now has increased importance. The committee rightly says it is vital that these regulations are superseded by new online harms legislation, which we on these Benches have been calling for ever since the publication of the White Paper. Can we expect the overdue response any day?

Do the Government intend their online harms legislation to bring all VSPs that impact on UK consumers under the scope of UK regulation? If not, then the vaunted taking back of control will be a sham. We have seen Ofcom’s interim guidance of 21 October on regulating video-sharing platforms, but what is the point of Ofcom

“developing and publicly consulting on more detailed regulatory guidance for VSPs”

when online harms legislation will supersede the AVMS provisions?

The Government, shamefully, have not implemented Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act. Will we not need age verification in order to comply with the directive? Or do the Government think age assurance is different in kind, as I asked in a Written Question earlier this month? How will we prevent access to restricted material? Moreover, will age verification not be needed to comply with the new age appropriate design code?

With or without a deal, should we not be helping to develop the role of the European Convention on Transfrontier Television? What are the Government’s plans?

Finally, what will be the mechanism for dealing with individual complaints about VSPs? I look forward to the Minister’s reply.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Brougham and Vaux) (Con)]

The noble Lord, Lord Singh of Wimbledon, has withdrawn, so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick.

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her explanation of these regulations, which address how on-demand programming and video sharing platforms will be regulated after the Brexit transition period. Like the noble Lords, Lord Clement-Jones and Lord Blunkett, I have certain issues regarding the gap during which there does not seem to be any form of control. When dealing with digital platforms and the potential for child abuse, full regulatory and legislative control is vital, so I have some questions for the Minister.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee raised some issues, the main one being the lack of an online harms Bill. According to the White Paper published some years ago, it should cover child sexual exploitation, hate speech, terrorist offences, online crime and online bullying and harassment. What is the expected date of this Bill? In her introduction, the Minister said it would be early in 2021. Because of the gravity of the situation, and because of the gap between the end of the transition period on 31 December and whenever this comes into operation, could she specify a date today? During this regulatory gap between the end of the transition period and the implementation of this Act, Ofcom will simply be unable to operate its regulatory function. Are there any plans to provide a temporary power to Ofcom to deal with this regulatory gap until the full legislation is ready for publication, debate, implementation and Royal Assent?

Another area of concern is that both Google and Facebook have their European headquarters in Dublin, where EU regulations will apply, and the new arrangements will apparently not allow Ofcom to intervene where these companies may have UK subsidiaries. Is it not possible, as part of the UK-EU negotiations, to discuss some resolutions in this area, when the issue of the protection of children from sexual exploitation is vital? There are also issues around scamming and people who extort money using these digital platforms. Will Ofcom and the online harms Bill be able to deal with those issues?

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Brougham and Vaux) (Con)]

The noble Lord, Lord Liddle, has withdrawn, so I call the noble Earl, Lord Erroll.