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 adequacy of legislation governing the livestreaming of violent content.
The Online Safety Act (OSA) requires services to safeguard children and reduce the risk that they are used to facilitate illegal activity. Ofcom, the regulator, sets out the steps in its codes of practice that providers can take to fulfil these duties. It has issued the first versions of the codes and is updating these iteratively. Ofcom has recently consulted on additional measures for livestreaming. The Act establishes that the Secretary of State must review the functioning of the Act within 2-5 years of the regime taking effect.