Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Online Safety Act 2023's age assurance duties on (a) LGBTQIA+ and (b) other minority (i) community websites and (ii) support services; and what steps she is taking to ensure such services are not disproportionately affected relative to the risks they present.

Implementing a fair age assurance process is crucial to ensure that users are not unfairly excluded from online spaces to which they have legitimate access.

Providers in-scope of the OSA must consider the extent to which its chosen method avoids or minimises bias and discriminatory outcomes. As part of this, Ofcom recommends services consider a variety of age assurance methods to support accessibility.

We will continue to work with Ofcom to support solutions that protect children online while ensuring users from minority backgrounds are not unfairly excluded from accessing lawful content and services.