Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) AI-powered misinformation and (b) political deepfakes.

The Government recognises the potential challenges artificial intelligence and digitally manipulated content such as deepfakes may pose and we are considering these issues carefully as part of work to tackle online manipulation and disinformation.

As set out in the full government response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, the new regulatory framework will establish a duty of care on companies to improve the safety of their users online, which will be overseen and enforced by an independent regulator.

Where mis- and disinformation presents a significant threat to public safety, public health or national security, Ofcom will be able to take steps to build users’ awareness and resilience to disinformation and misinformation and require companies to report on steps they are taking in light of such a situation.