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 potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of (a) social media groups that promote surrogacy and (b) the risks posed by such groups with relation to the trafficking of children.

Human trafficking is a priority offence under the Online Safety Act. The Act places duties on services to take steps to ensure they are not used for human trafficking.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has strong enforcement powers under the OSA, including imposing fines, and—where necessary—using business disruption measures to ensure platforms comply with their safety duties.