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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to place obligations on online marketplaces as part of upcoming legislative proposals on ensuring products are secure-by-design.

All connected consumer products sold in the UK will have to comply with the cyber security requirements set out in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill. Where a product is sold on a third party online marketplace, the seller will be responsible for ensuring that the product is compliant.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is taking forward a programme of work to ensure that major online marketplaces are playing their part to protect UK consumers from unsafe goods. As part of this, OPSS is reviewing the UK’s product safety framework to ensure that it continues to deliver safety for consumers while supporting businesses to innovate and grow. The review is considering non-traditional business models, including online sales.

In order to inform the review, OPSS instigated a Call for Evidence, which closed on 17th June, and has been carrying out extensive stakeholder engagement to capture the fullest possible range of views. A Government Response to that Call for Evidence will be issued in due course.

The Government will ensure that the approach taken to regulating the security of online products works with the broader approach to product safety adopted once the impact of these business models on safety have been appropriately reviewed.