Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to remove the documentary Silenced from online distribution.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The removal of online content is not within my department’s powers.
I can confirm that this film has not been classified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
It is for the courts to determine whether this content is in contempt of court and for the online sites hosting the content to remove content where it breaches their own standards or where instructed.
A person may be liable for contempt of court where they know of an injunction and do anything to help or permit the person to whom it applies to breach its terms. It is for the Attorney General to consider each particular case and determine the appropriate course of action. Bringing proceedings for contempt of court is a Law Officer function which is exercised independently of the government.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to help prevent premiership rugby clubs from closure due to the financial impact of covid-19.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Sport clubs are a vital part of our local communities and culture, which is why the government stepped in to provide significant financial support to them during the pandemic.
This support included the £600m Sport Survival Package (SSP), set up to provide direct financial support to sports reliant on spectators and impacted by the pandemic restrictions. £124m of this funding was provided to Premiership rugby clubs, who were the largest recipients of SSP funding.
DCMS continues to work closely with all SSP loan recipients, including rugby clubs, as well as Premiership Rugby and Rugby Football Union to understand the current situation and ensure a positive outcome for the sport.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) Facebook and (b) other social media companies to prevent the spread of Russian disinformation through their platforms.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Russia continues to use disinformation to attempt to justify its military action against Ukraine. Accompanied by baseless rhetoric and disinformation, Russian authorities falsely cast Ukraine as a threat to justify their aggressive stance.
The DCMS-led Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) is working to identify and counter Russian disinformation targeted at UK and international audiences. We are working closely with the major social media platforms, including Meta (Facebook’s parent company), to ensure that they are cooperating at speed to swiftly remove disinformation and coordinated inauthentic or manipulated behaviour, as per their Terms of Service. We are also ensuring that platforms are promoting authoritative content which accurately depicts the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
The government welcomes the actions that Meta and YouTube have taken to block channels connected to RT and Sputnik in the EU and the UK, and the Secretary of State has written to other major platforms, including Twitter and TikTok, to ask that they take similar action. We also welcome the actions Twitter has taken to label Russian-state affiliated accounts and media links and prohibit Russian state media from running adverts or monetisation on the platform.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has evidence of Russian disinformation efforts aimed at disrupting UK society, including through (a) RT and (b) other front organisations such as the Internet Research Agency; and what steps her Department is taking to (i) monitor and (ii) counter Russian disinformation efforts.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Russia continues to use disinformation to attempt to justify its military action against Ukraine. Accompanied by baseless rhetoric and disinformation, Russian authorities falsely cast Ukraine as a threat to justify their aggressive stance.
The DCMS-led Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) is working to identify and counter Russian disinformation targeted at UK and international audiences. We are working closely with the major social media platforms, including Meta (Facebook’s parent company), to ensure that they are cooperating at speed to swiftly remove disinformation and coordinated inauthentic or manipulated behaviour, as per their Terms of Service. We are also ensuring that platforms are promoting authoritative content which accurately depicts the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
The government welcomes the actions that Meta and YouTube have taken to block channels connected to RT and Sputnik in the EU and the UK, and the Secretary of State has written to other major platforms, including Twitter and TikTok, to ask that they take similar action. We also welcome the actions Twitter has taken to label Russian-state affiliated accounts and media links and prohibit Russian state media from running adverts or monetisation on the platform.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of China hosting the Winter Olympic Games on the reputation of that event.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is wholly responsible for the election process of the host nation of future Olympic and Paralympic Games. The host city is elected by a majority of the votes cast by secret ballot, with each active member of the IOC having one vote.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of how long international tourism will take to return to previous levels as covid-19 lockdown restrictions ease.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Since the start of the first lockdown, we’ve provided a range of targeted measures to see the UK tourism sector through COVID-19. On top of the Government’s wider economic support package, we've provided business rates relief and grants for many in the sector, as well as a substantial cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality activities until the end of March. The Chancellor will deliver the Budget on 3 March, in which he will set out the next phase of our plan to tackle the pandemic and build back better.
We recognise that heightened travel restrictions are significantly impacting international tourism and we are closely monitoring the situation. We will continue to engage with stakeholders via the Tourism Industry Council to assess how we can most effectively support the sector’s recovery.
The Global Travel Taskforce last year committed the Government to publish a Tourism Recovery Plan in support of the sector. The Government intends to set out proposals in the Spring, including plans for a marketing campaign to welcome visitors back to the UK as soon as it is safe to do so.
The Department for Transport will lead a successor to the Global Travel Taskforce, with an ambition to develop a framework that can facilitate greater inbound and outbound travel as soon as the time is right, while still managing the risk from imported cases and variants. It will report on 12 April.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what additional support his Department plans to offer to UK tourism businesses as covid-19 lockdown restrictions ease.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Since the start of the first lockdown, we’ve provided a range of targeted measures to see the UK tourism sector through COVID-19. On top of the Government’s wider economic support package, we've provided business rates relief and grants for many in the sector, as well as a substantial cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality activities until the end of March. The Chancellor will deliver the Budget on 3 March, in which he will set out the next phase of our plan to tackle the pandemic and build back better.
We recognise that heightened travel restrictions are significantly impacting international tourism and we are closely monitoring the situation. We will continue to engage with stakeholders via the Tourism Industry Council to assess how we can most effectively support the sector’s recovery.
The Global Travel Taskforce last year committed the Government to publish a Tourism Recovery Plan in support of the sector. The Government intends to set out proposals in the Spring, including plans for a marketing campaign to welcome visitors back to the UK as soon as it is safe to do so.
The Department for Transport will lead a successor to the Global Travel Taskforce, with an ambition to develop a framework that can facilitate greater inbound and outbound travel as soon as the time is right, while still managing the risk from imported cases and variants. It will report on 12 April.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress the Government has made in securing an agreement on data adequacy with the EU.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
Although the EU-UK Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was agreed and implemented before the end of the transition period, the EU left insufficient time to complete and adopt its data adequacy decisions for the UK by the 31 December 2020.
We have therefore agreed with the EU a time limited ‘bridging mechanism’ as part of the TCA. The mechanism will allow personal data to continue to flow as it did previously whilst EU adequacy decisions for the UK are adopted, and for no longer than 6 months.
We continue to engage constructively with the European Commission and see no reason why the UK should not be granted adequacy and the process concluded promptly.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to replace the EU eCommerce Directive 2000/31/EC with UK law after the transition period.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
At the end of the transition period, the EU eCommerce Directive will no longer apply to the UK. Many of its provisions have been implemented into UK domestic law. The government is making changes to ensure that, from 1 January 2021, online service providers based in the European Economic Area will be required to abide by UK legislation when providing services to UK consumers.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to include provisions to prevent the sale of unsafe toys by third party sellers on online marketplaces in the Online Harms Bill.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Unsafe toys pose an unacceptable risk to children. The law is clear: only safe products should be placed on the market. To tackle the sale of unsafe toys online effectively, regulation must be consistent, transparent and joined-up.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards is in a unique position across Government to lead work tackling the sale of unsafe toys. However, their work must align with broader work on digital regulation, which DCMS leads. My officials engage closely with the Office for Product Safety and Standards on the issue of unsafe goods online.
Policy development for the Online Harms Bill is ongoing, including on the scope of the new regulatory framework, to ensure that regulation is clear and proportionate, and that it does not duplicate existing government activity. We will be publishing the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper Consultation later this year, before moving to legislation.