Proposal for Designation of Age-verification Regulator

Margot James Excerpts

Thursday 1st February 2018 General Committees

[The Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Margot James)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the Proposal for Designation of Age-verification Regulator.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. The Digital Economy Act 2017 introduced a requirement for commercial providers of online pornography to have robust age-verification controls in place to prevent children and young people under the age of 18 from accessing pornographic material. Section 16 of the Act states that the Secretary of State may designate by notice the age-verification regulator and may specify which functions under the Act the age-verification regulator should hold. The debate will focus on two issues. I am seeking Parliament’s approval to designate the British Board of Film Classification as the age-verification regulator and approval for the BBFC to hold in this role specific functions under the Act.

[Sir Greg Knight (East Yorkshire) (Con)]

For the purpose of this measure, where is pornography defined? For example, would the measure prevent a student from downloading a film, say, of “Salome” or “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”?

[Margot James]

The measure before us today deals exclusively with the designation of the BBFC as age-verification regulator and the powers that it will enjoy by exercising that function. It does not deal with the definition of pornography. Although the measure contains a definition within it, it does not deal with that matter. I can come back to that later if my right hon. Friend requires it.

Before considering the specific points related to the debate, I remind the Committee why we introduced the requirement. In the offline world there are strict rules to prevent children accessing adult content, but the same is not true online. A large amount of pornography is available on the internet in the UK, often for free, with little or no protection to ensure that those accessing it are old enough to do so. That is changing the way in which young people understand healthy relationships, sex and consent.

A 2016 report commissioned by the Children’s Commissioner and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children makes this clear. More than half of the children sampled had been exposed to online pornography by the age of 15. Nearly half of boys thought pornography was realistic and just under half wished to emulate what they had seen. The introduction of a requirement for age-verification controls is a necessary step towards tackling the issues and contributes to our commitment to making the United Kingdom the safest place in the world to be online.

The BBFC is best placed to carry out the important role of age-verification regulator because it has unparalleled expertise in the area. The BBFC has been classifying films for cinema release since 1912 and video content since 1984. It has established a trusted reputation for making difficult editorial judgments and giving consumers, particularly parents and children, clear information about age-appropriate content. Importantly, the BBFC is currently responsible for classifying adult material for sale online, including judging when content should be rated 18 years and therefore be available for sale only in licensed sex shops. Moreover, the BBFC understands how new technology is changing the way in which people access content. It has been crucial to the development and implementation of the filtering of adult content on mobile networks. It is clear that the BBFC has the breadth of experience and expertise required to undertake the role of age-verification regulator.

In this role, the BBFC will be responsible for identifying non-compliant websites and giving notice to the appropriate persons. Draft regulations setting out the circumstances in which the regulator should consider that pornography has been made available on a commercial basis were published alongside the Act. We expect to lay an updated draft before the House shortly.

The particulars of the proposed designation set out the powers that the BBFC will be designated to carry out the role, namely: the power to request information that it requires to exercise its powers; the power to issue civil proceedings against non-compliant persons; the power to give notice to payment service providers or ancillary service providers to non-compliant persons; the power to direct internet service providers to block access to non-compliant material; and the freedom to exercise its powers proportionately, and in a manner that prioritises child safety online.

In addition, there is an obligation on the BBFC to issue guidance on the age-verification arrangements that it will treat as compliant, and the approach that it will take to ancillary service providers. Following designation, that guidance will be laid before the House for approval. We are confident that, taken together, this approach gives the BBFC a range of powers that will provide a real incentive for pornography providers to comply with the age-verification requirement under the Digital Economy Act.

I am pleased to report that the BBFC has engaged openly and constructively with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from the beginning of the process, and has made extensive preparations for the role, including developing the technical expertise and processes that will be necessary. It has undertaken engagement with relevant organisations, including representatives of the adult industry and the age-verification industry. In particular, it has established a charity working group to ensure that its approach is in line with child online safety goals.

In conclusion, we believe that the BBFC has the right attributes and experience to carry out the role of age-verification regulator. It is a highly respected organisation that has unparalleled expertise in classifying content. I have confidence in recommending it to the House as age-verification regulator for online pornography.

--- Later in debate ---

[Margot James]

I thank hon. Members for their contributions, and I thank the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute and the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill for their warm welcome. I, too, look forward to many more hours of debating with them and their colleagues.

With regard to the app of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, I am afraid that I have been too busy working this morning to have been on it. Since it has just been launched, I have no doubt that he will have time to refine it in forthcoming days.

[Sir Nicholas Soames]

Will the Minister give way?

[Margot James]

Just before I give way, I will deal with the substantive point raised by the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill about whether such apps will come under the purview of the regulation. Hon. Members should bear in mind the important point that the regulation seeks to regulate age verification with regard to pornography that is made available for commercial use.

[Sir Nicholas Soames]

I want to help the Minister in that I have been on the app and, contrary to what the right hon. Gentleman said, it is truly magnificent. It is a road down which we must all go.

--- Later in debate ---

[Margot James]

I thank my right hon. Friend for confirming what I suspected. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is extremely able in the digital world, and I am sure that what he has put out is of very high quality.

I wish to respond to some of the criticisms and questions from the debate. First and foremost, over the choice of the BBFC—

[Liam Byrne]

Tom Bateman, a political editor with BBC politics, tells us he denied the app access to his photos and yet it uploaded pictures anyway, so it is not clear to me how the Secretary of State has been able to produce this app in a way that is violating the country’s privacy laws.

[The Chair]

Order. If we could keep to the legislation—

[Margot James]

Thank you, Mr Sharma, I shall certainly keep to the point of the debate.

The right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill asked earlier about the choice of the BBFC, whether it is best placed to carry out this role and whether we were adding to the plethora of agencies to which he referred. Not that this is the subject of the debate, but the roles of Ofcom and the Information Commissioner are distinct and clear. His criticism that we are adding yet another I fear is misplaced, because the BBFC has been in existence for 100 years. We are not adding anything. We are merely going to the organisation with the most expertise to do the job required. It has been responsible for classifying adult material for sale offline for many years, it has a trusted reputation in defining age-appropriate content, and it has played a key role in the development and implementation of the filtering of adult content on mobile networks. Indeed, its core mission is child protection.

The right hon. Gentleman also asked about resources, as did I when I took on this brief—it is an important question. One of the benefits is that we are adding a responsibility to an organisation that is already well placed to inherit the task. We are enabling a budget of just under £1 million for the set-up costs of the BBFC engaging in the age verification task. During the first year it will be given approximately £800,000 in addition for its running costs. This is a new policy and we will certainly keep it under review, and that goes for the resources we allocate it as well as the progress of the implementation.

On powers and responsibilities, the regulator is required to publish guidance on the age verification arrangements that it will treat as compliant. Hon. Members will be able to see that guidance shortly. The right hon. Gentleman asked about specific social media powers, but with the powers across all online pornographic content the BBFC will be able to issue civil proceedings against non-compliant persons. Importantly, it will be able to give notice to payment service providers. The BBFC has already had discussions with Visa and Mastercard, which were very concerned for their brands not to be associated with any non-compliant sites. That is a good sign. Finally, the BBFC is able to direct internet service providers wherever they are in the world to block access to non-compliant websites. Those powers are strong but, as with resources, we will keep the new legislation under review.

I thank the members of the Committee for their contributions to this important debate. Age verification for online pornography is an important new regime. I agree with the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute that it is one aspect of what we need to do about education and child safety online, but it is nevertheless important. As has been clearly set out today, the new policy is complex and requires expertise and judgment. The BBFC’s track record in classifying films and content offline demonstrates that it has the attributes required to undertake the work online. It is clearly best placed to take on the role, and the powers that we propose to give it will allow it to carry out the role effectively and, in doing so, to make the internet a safer place for children. I thank the Committee for its time this morning.

Question put and agreed to.