Computer-generated Child Sexual Abuse Material

Lord Watts Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I cannot give the noble Lord specific detail on that. I come back to the point that there has been a consultation on the use of the powers under the Online Safety Act. That consultation has been completed; Ofcom will now reporting to government before April this year. That is when the provisions in the Online Safety Act, which had cross-party support, will be implemented.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, following the earlier questions, if the regulator fails to do its duty, as it has done in the past, will the Government remove the regulator and find someone who will?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I hope it is helpful to say to my noble friend that it is important that we have a strong cross-party approach that supports Ofcom, looks at the results of its consultation and draws up a plan to implement closure of illegal content under our current legislation. With, I hope, cross-party support for the Crime and Policing Bill’s measures coming up shortly—and for the measures we will introduce on Report, for example, on nudifying apps—we can be proud of the fact that this country will be one of the leaders in tackling child sexual abuse online. I hope that my noble friend will give that strong support. Let us hope and pray that we can deliver this as a Government, with support from organisations such as Ofcom.