Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Main Page: Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con)
My Lords, I join in the thanks and congratulations that have been expressed to the noble Baroness for promoting this Bill. I acknowledge her continuing and important contribution to this whole cause, on which I believe we can all unite to ensure that children and young people are safe online. Having discussed these matters with the noble Baroness, I know at first hand how tenacious and committed she is, and rightly so.
When the noble Baroness promoted an earlier Bill on this matter, the Minister said that there was much agreement between the Government and the promoter. That statement is equally true today. We share a common objective to do all in our power to ensure that children and young people are as safe as possible online. What has changed since that debate is the rate of progress that has been made by the Government. The PM and the Culture Secretary have shown strong leadership in working with the industry to develop and implement child internet safety measures.
Children need to be confident users in the digital world and reap the benefits that the internet can bring, as the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, and, in a different way, the noble Lord, Lord Alton, mentioned, but we need to address the profound risks posed to children when they are online. I was particularly interested in the references to the film made by the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby raised the issues of moral compass, comfort and trust, which are all part of the problem that we have to resolve. My noble friends Lord Cormack and Lady Benjamin spoke powerfully about these matters, which go way beyond this Bill and into how to ensure children and young people enjoy the child’s life that they deserve. Too often, they do not.
Research published last month highlights these risks. The NSPCC’s report, Younger Children and Social Networking Sites: A Blind Spot, found that around 50% of 11 and 12 year-olds in the UK have a profile on a social networking site—around 666,000 children—and that around one-quarter of those had had an upsetting experience on the site in the past year. One-fifth of those children experienced something upsetting every day. The noble Baroness, Lady Uddin, expanded on that with further statistics.
A report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England into child exploitation and gangs found that sexual violence is being carried out by children against other children as young as 11 years old. The noble Lord, Lord Maginnis, referred to the report and the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, spoke about the indignity that this situation creates. The Deputy Children’s Commissioner, Sue Berelowitz, has suggested that access to pornography has helped to create the attitude that young girls are a commodity to be passed around. An article in today’s Times about the headmaster of Uppingham School—the school I went to—refers to the mental health risks to children and young people from many of these advances, which do so much good but have these profound risks. The noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, gave a very good exposition of the dilemma we face with that effect on young people.
These experiences and attitudes are unacceptable and we must take, and are taking, action to counter them. That is why the Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary have taken such a strong position and are showing leadership on this issue. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby asked about this, and I do not say that just because they head up and are a key part of the Government. All sides of the House and all political parties see this as a cause in which we should unite. Whoever the Government of the day are, this is an issue not just because the Prime Minister has young children but because that is the responsible and correct position for people holding high office.
I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, that there is a great deal more to be done. However, particularly over the past six months, the UK has done much that sets us firmly at the leading edge internationally. I raise this not to be complacent but because it is important to hear. The respected international Family Online Safety Institute, a not-for-profit organisation whose remit is to improve internet safety globally, refers to the UK as being,
“at the forefront of online safety and best practice”.
It says that the UK,
“continues to lead the way in many areas”.
That highlights what so many other parts of the world have got to consider as well.
To develop effective measures to keep children safe online, given the phenomenal pace of change and development—change and development that I am afraid I often simply find difficult to grapple with—the Government are exploiting the skills and talents of the experts developing internet technologies, who are the very people who are going to help ensure that children and young people are safe. We believe that this is the best way to keep pace with the changes and evolving risks that children face. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety brings together representatives from industry, manufacturers, charities, academia, social media, parents’ groups and government to do just this. It is through UKCCIS and its partnership working model that voluntary and self-regulatory measures have been developed which will help to ensure that children are safer online. The importance of engaging industry is that the solutions developed can be fleet, flexible and fully responsive to the rapid rate of technological change. Holistic technological solutions are one aspect of a wider remedy which includes education and awareness for parents and children, and building children’s resilience.
In the Prime Minister’s keynote speech to the NSPCC, referred to in particular by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, he called on internet industries to step up efforts to prevent children and young people’s access to inappropriate content and to block access to illegal child abuse content. Since July, as a result of the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary, encouraging progress has been made, delivering in the areas that are covered in some of the Bill’s provisions.
The noble Baroness has called for default filtering of inappropriate content, requiring users to opt in with internet service providers and mobile operators. The Government share the intention behind this provision, but believe that this can be and is being secured by a non-legislative route. The majority of mobile customers are already covered by “default on” filters, and the Government are working with the mobile sector to ensure that all customers are protected in this way. Three has committed to change to “default on” in 2014 for contract customers. The issue with Tesco Mobile was rightly raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe and the noble Lord, Lord Maginnis. I have looked into this and, while I am unhappy about it, I am pleased that it has come to light. I understand that Tesco is now working to address it, with the intention that filters will be in place early next year. The situation was not satisfactory, but the problem was identified and is now being addressed by Tesco.
In November, the Prime Minister also announced that the four largest internet service providers, which together cover around 90% of the home broadband market, will, from early next year, implement family-friendly network-level parental control filters, meaning that all new customers will be prompted to make a choice about the application of filters. Importantly, filters will be preselected so that they will be applied in those homes where parents do not engage. By the end of next year, the ISPs will have contacted all of their existing customers to invite them to set the filters too.
Quite rightly, the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, and the noble Lords, Lord Ramsbotham and Lord Maginnis, referred to smaller operators. The Prime Minister has asked the smaller operators that cover the remainder of homes to consider what parental control tools they can put in place. The Internet Service Providers’ Association is working with these providers to share best practice and will report progress to the Government. We need to keep that under our watch.
Giving parents the choice is important. In line with the advice of experts, the Government believe that engaging parents is the best way to ensure that children are kept safe. Some have argued that default filters can lead to parents disengaging, assuming that their work is done. Importantly, such filters do not help with cyberbullying, or grooming, which was raised by the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, and my noble and learned friend Lord Mackay of Clashfern. Parents are being provided with the tools to keep their children safe rather than being lulled into a false sense of security. I will refer shortly to plans for promoting greater awareness.
The noble Baroness also calls for an enhanced role for Ofcom to regulate the standards of filtering in line with the standards Ofcom must uphold in relation to broadcast content, and the age verification processes as set out in Clause 1. Ofcom has done an excellent job as the communications regulator and the Government understand the noble Baroness’s aims in seeking to expand its remit here. The Government’s position is that continuing to work with industry, working flexibly to address the needs of consumers, is the way to keep children safe online.
There is undoubtedly a role for Ofcom. In his speech in July, the Prime Minister asked Ofcom to report later this month on parental awareness, take-up and confidence in the tools available to help parents keep their children safe. The noble Lord, Lord Browne of Belmont, highlighted the need for parental awareness and having the tools required. Ofcom was also asked to report again on these in a year’s time and to report in the spring on whether the internet service providers have met their commitments to implement family-friendly network-level filters.
The Bill also requires device manufacturers to provide a means of filtering on a device at the point of purchase. Again, the Government agree with the intention behind this provision, seeking to ensure that devices purchased in the UK include device-level filters. The Government have been working with the suppliers represented on the UKCCIS to drive greater take-up of device-level filtering, with working groups led by techUK looking at expanding device-level controls for laptops, tablets and connected televisions.
It is also the case that the network-level filters that will be in place for the four largest ISPs mean that all devices in the home connected to the internet service with filters set will be covered. Moreover, as of September this year, around 90% of public wi-fi is now filtered where children are likely to be, meaning that children are less likely to access inappropriate content when away from home.
The Bill requires internet service providers and mobile operators to provide clear information on online safety to customers at the time the service is purchased, and for the duration of the service, and puts a duty on the Secretary of State to provide a means to educate parents of those under 18 on internet safety.
The Government absolutely share the noble Baroness’s view that greater education is key. The internet service providers will be making customers aware of the wealth of information they have on internet safety at the time they are invited to set filters. The Prime Minister has also asked the ISPs to take the lead across the industry to help increase parental awareness. Next spring the ISPs will be launching a large-scale, three-year campaign, with a budget of around £25 million for the first year alone, to raise parental awareness on internet safety. The noble Earl, Lord Listowel, referred to this. I was most grateful for the brief that TalkTalk and Sky provided, emphasising what they propose to do. It is expected that the campaign will provide advice to parents on how to keep children safe online, make good use of filters and signpost to further sources of advice and support. Ofcom will track the impact through its reports.
Educating children in internet safety is key, as my noble and learned friend Lord Mackay of Clashfern and the noble Baroness, Lady Massey of Darwen, have emphasised. That is why the Government have announced changes to the curriculum which from next year will see all five to 16 year-olds in maintained schools taught age-appropriate internet safety. This will include teaching children, in an age-appropriate way, how to use the internet safely and—importantly—respectfully and responsibly, so that they understand the consequences of behaving inappropriately.
On teaching, I fully understand that teachers need to be in a position to deal with this matter appropriately. Guidance is given to schools on teaching online safety and teachers are encouraged to use a range of resources, which are widely available. Given the time, I think that it would be more appropriate if I were to write to your Lordships with further information on this.
On age verification, which was raised by a number of your Lordships, the Government through UKCCIS are looking at where age-verification solutions have been used successfully—a project in Denmark, for instance —but, as my noble friend Lady Benjamin acknowledged in her powerful contribution, age verification of young people is a complex problem that requires a global solution. The Government have made grant funding available so that we can seek a robust solution with industry and voluntary sector partners.
The noble Baroness, Lady Uddin, mentioned search engines and access to pornography. Search engines have safer-search settings. For example, I understand that Google’s safe-search setting screens out sites with sexually explicit content, and safe-search can be locked on to a computer.
In the time available, I want to confirm that this is an issue on which the Government place the utmost importance. I do not see this as a government/opposition matter; it is a matter on which we should all be, and are, united. Keeping children safe online is an undoubted priority and must continue to be, whoever holds high office.
We are making encouraging strides. In October, Ernie Allen, the president of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, a leading global movement to protect children from exploitation, said:
“There is no question that the UK is well ahead of the rest of the world on this complex, difficult issue”.
That is in many ways because of the determination of your Lordships and others to ensure that this issue is continually on the radar screen of government and other organisations. Indeed, the honourable Claire Perry MP, whose tireless work led to the independent parliamentary inquiry into child online safety and to her becoming the Prime Minister’s adviser on these issues, said recently when she appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that the Government had gone further than she ever thought possible, and had improved on what she had hoped for, from her report.
I hope your Lordships will accept that the Government in working with industry are seeking vigorously and ferociously to make the internet a safer place for children and young people. It is incumbent upon us all to secure continuing safety as technology advances. All that your Lordships have said I will report back to the Culture Secretary, who, together with the Prime Minister, has quite rightly been a dominant force on this issue. I say to the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, that I would of course welcome any opportunity that he feels valuable to meet any organisations or people, and I in turn will take back any results of those meetings to the Culture Secretary.
Today’s debate will undoubtedly resonate with so many people. It will resonate with parents who are seeking how to wrestle with this great beneficial advance which, as I said, has profound risks. I must say that I think that the risks go beyond children and young people. There are vulnerable people of many ages to whom the internet is a great worry, but it is also of enormous benefit and has been an extraordinary revolution that I would never have begun to comprehend but a few years ago. We have the dilemma of how we deal with that benefit while seeking to stop the people who use it for ill. That is one of the great issues with which we need to wrestle.
I promise my noble friend Lord Cormack that I had included the word “determination” in my speech before he raised it. I assure your Lordships that it is the Government’s objective and determination to ensure that the research findings I mentioned earlier from the NSPCC and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner swiftly become horrors of the past.