Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to include provisions to prevent the sale of unsafe toys by third party sellers on online marketplaces in the Online Harms Bill.
Unsafe toys pose an unacceptable risk to children. The law is clear: only safe products should be placed on the market. To tackle the sale of unsafe toys online effectively, regulation must be consistent, transparent and joined-up.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards is in a unique position across Government to lead work tackling the sale of unsafe toys. However, their work must align with broader work on digital regulation, which DCMS leads. My officials engage closely with the Office for Product Safety and Standards on the issue of unsafe goods online.
Policy development for the Online Harms Bill is ongoing, including on the scope of the new regulatory framework, to ensure that regulation is clear and proportionate, and that it does not duplicate existing government activity. We will be publishing the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper Consultation later this year, before moving to legislation.