Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
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 Ofcom’s effectiveness in responding to harmful suicide, self-harm and depression-related content online.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.
Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.
Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on protecting children and young people online.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.
Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.
Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Ofcom's performance in enforcing the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.
Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.
Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of self-assessments provided by social media companies on risks of hosting suicide, self-harm and depression-related content in the context of Ofcom’s recent analysis of platform risk.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.
Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.
Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77809, whether her Department's report into the impact of smartphones and social media on children will be published before the end of 2025.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department is developing the evidence base around children’s online safety, to ensure our policy response is informed by the best research.
As part of this, DSIT commissioned a feasibility study into research on the impact of smartphones and social media on children. This six-month study considered methods to gather causal evidence of any impact and reviewed existing research. It was led by expert researchers from UK universities. We will publish the feasibility study report in due course.