Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that future children’s online safety policy reflects the experiences of children with additional needs.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Protecting children online is a priority for the Secretary of State. Through our recent consultation, we heard directly from 14000 children and especially reached out to voices that are sometimes missed.
Following this, on 15 June, the government published a progress statement announcing a ban on social media services from providing their services to under 16s as well as targeted functionality restrictions on a wider range of online services. We recognise the need to support those with additional needs and the government is continuing to strengthen wider support for children. Our approach will reduce serious harms while preserving safe, positive online spaces.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help ensure that parents and carers have access to clear, accessible and tailored support to help them manage children’s online safety.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The government recognises the vital role parents and carers play in supporting children’s online safety. We launched the 'You Won’t Know Until You Ask’ campaign and the Kids Online Safety Hub to provide them with practical tools to build children’s resilience to misinformation and critical thinking skills. The Hub brings together trusted resources and guidance on talking to children about content, making devices safe, reporting harmful material.
As part of Growing up in the online world consultation, we asked where families most need help and where further support is needed. We will set out findings and next steps by Summer.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps to ensure that online platforms are required to implement proactive systems to tackle fraudulent content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
This government takes the issue of online fraud, including fraudulent advertising, incredibly seriously. DSIT works closely with other departments to address online fraud, including the Home Office, who have overall responsibility for fraud policy.
The Online Safety Act has clear duties on providers to protect their users from fraud. This includes that regulated services must prevent users from encountering user-generated scam content, swiftly remove it if it appears, and mitigate and manage the risk of their services facilitating fraud. The largest services will also have to tackle fraudulent advertising once the relevant duties are in force. In July, Ofcom is expected to publish a register of categorised services and to launch a consultation on additional duties for those designated as Category 1 or 2A to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising.
AI has huge potential benefits, but can also bring opportunities for criminals. The OSA regulates AI-generated media in the same way as ‘real’ content, and places the same obligations on services to protect their users.
To support compliance with Act duties, Ofcom issues Codes of Practice advising services on how to be compliant with their regulatory obligations. These Codes are expected to evolve over time to address new threats and new technologies.
Where social media companies do not fulfil their duties under the OSA, Ofcom, the independent regulator, has robust powers to act. This includes issuing fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue (whichever is greater) if services fail to live up to their regulatory obligations.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to tackle online platforms that fail to prevent the promotion of fraudulent content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
This government takes the issue of online fraud, including fraudulent advertising, incredibly seriously. DSIT works closely with other departments to address online fraud, including the Home Office, who have overall responsibility for fraud policy.
The Online Safety Act has clear duties on providers to protect their users from fraud. This includes that regulated services must prevent users from encountering user-generated scam content, swiftly remove it if it appears, and mitigate and manage the risk of their services facilitating fraud. The largest services will also have to tackle fraudulent advertising once the relevant duties are in force. In July, Ofcom is expected to publish a register of categorised services and to launch a consultation on additional duties for those designated as Category 1 or 2A to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising.
AI has huge potential benefits, but can also bring opportunities for criminals. The OSA regulates AI-generated media in the same way as ‘real’ content, and places the same obligations on services to protect their users.
To support compliance with Act duties, Ofcom issues Codes of Practice advising services on how to be compliant with their regulatory obligations. These Codes are expected to evolve over time to address new threats and new technologies.
Where social media companies do not fulfil their duties under the OSA, Ofcom, the independent regulator, has robust powers to act. This includes issuing fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue (whichever is greater) if services fail to live up to their regulatory obligations.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the principle underlying corporate manslaughter legislation on the regulation of large technology platforms whose design enables the creation and spread of (a) child sexual abuse material and (b) non-consensual deepfakes.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Online Safety Act (OSA) regulatory regime gives platforms clear duties to prevent and remove child sexual abuse material and non-consensual deepfakes. Providers must fully assess risks and design services to be safe. For example, Ofcom has announced an investigation into X to assess if it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in the UK.
The Government keeps all legislative frameworks under review and has also announced that it will bring into effect a new offence covering the creation of non-consensual intimate images.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing legal frameworks to hold technology companies accountable for the dissemination of (a) child sexual abuse material and (b) non-consensual deepfakes.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Online Safety Act (OSA) regulatory regime gives platforms clear duties to prevent and remove child sexual abuse material and non-consensual deepfakes. Providers must fully assess risks and design services to be safe. For example, Ofcom has announced an investigation into X to assess if it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in the UK.
The Government keeps all legislative frameworks under review and has also announced that it will bring into effect a new offence covering the creation of non-consensual intimate images.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation in elections.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government takes the integrity and security of our democratic processes seriously, including from the threat posed by mis/disinformation.
The UK’s Online Safety Act captures disinformation aimed at disrupting elections where it is a criminal offence in the scope of the regulatory framework. This includes the Foreign Interference Offence, which requires all in-scope companies to act against a range of state-linked disinformation and interference online.
As the department responsible for managing the risk posed by online mis/disinformation targeting electoral processes, DSIT also supports ongoing work through the government’s Defending Democracy Taskforce to tackle the full scope of threats to democracy.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will (a) grant libraries the right to archive eBooks and (b) ensure perpetual access to licensed works.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government has no plans to alter the copyright framework in relation to archiving at the present time. However, the Government keeps the UK copyright framework under constant review. This includes the archiving and preservation exception to copyright outlined in section 42 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Government welcomes continued developments from the public library sector on e-licensing and e-book lending. Arts Council England funded Libraries Connected to deliver a pilot project to explore mutual benefits of increasing the affordability and availability of eBooks in public libraries. A project summary report was published in February 2025.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of replacing experiments on animals with non-animal methods.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. While it is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements, we support the development and application of approaches that replace, reduce and refine animal use in research (the 3Rs). Work to support this transition must be science-led and in lock step with partners.
The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which of the recommendations from the 2019 Online Harms White Paper his Department has implemented.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Online Harms White Paper set out a vision for a new regulatory framework for online services to tackle online harm, which would be overseen by an independent regulator with a suite of enforcement powers.
The Online Safety Act realises this vision. On 17 March 2025, illegal harms codes of practice came into effect, enabling Ofcom to take robust enforcement action against platforms failing to protect users from illegal content. Services are also required to conduct risk assessments for content harmful to children later this month, with the child safety duties expected to be enforceable by Summer 2025.