Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that restricted access to Gaza by independent observers and international journalists has on transparency, accountability and the global understanding of the situation in Gaza.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Journalists and media workers play an important role in sharing the devastating reality of war with the global public and the Government opposes all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists during conflicts. On 21 August, the UK joined a Media Freedom Coalition statement urging Israel to allow immediate media access to independent foreign media and afford protection for journalists working in Gaza.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of world media access to the West Bank.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Journalists and media workers play an important role in sharing the devastating reality of war with the global public and the Government opposes all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists during conflicts. On 21 August, the UK joined a Media Freedom Coalition statement urging Israel to allow immediate media access to independent foreign media and afford protection for journalists working in Gaza.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of (a) the prevalence of shadow banning on social media platforms and (b) its potential impact on freedom of expression and online transparency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act ensures accountability for tech companies for the safety of their users while upholding freedom of expression online. The Act does not prevent adults from seeking out legal content.
The Act requires the largest services to have clear and accessible Terms of Service, setting out what kinds of legal content for adults they do not accept and in what circumstances they may ban or suspend a user. These services are required to apply these terms consistently and transparently.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Chinese counterpart on the re-sentencing of Zhang Zhan; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure her release.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government regularly raises its concerns about media freedom with the Chinese authorities, including the case of Zhang Zhan, and the Prime Minister and Cabinet colleagues have all raised human rights with their Chinese counterparts.
British diplomats attempted to attend Zhang Zhan's trial on 19 September but were declined entry to court. On 13 October, the Media Freedom Coalition issued a joint statement expressing our strong concern about the detention of Zhang Zhan and calling for her release.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to restrict the sale of computer games that (a) allow players to pretend to be the perpetrator in real-life school shootings and (b) create scenarios where players can commit mass school shootings; and whether she plans to restrict the promotion of such games to (i) children and (ii) all people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Decisions regarding the classification of video games are made by the Games Rating Authority (GRA). The GRA’s decisions are made independently of the government, which is important to ensure impartiality. The GRA’s age ratings serve to protect the public and empower people to make informed gaming choices, whilst also recognising and respecting adult freedom of choice within the law.
The GRA is able to address issues of potential harm by awarding an appropriate age rating or suggesting changes to a developer’s content to make the game acceptable. Where this is not possible, a classification may be refused.
Even if material does not breach a specific UK law, the GRA may refuse to classify content on harm grounds when a game contains material that poses a significant risk of harm; either to viewers or, through their subsequent behaviour, to society. This may include content that contains:
Material that promotes criminal activity, including drugs;
Material that is illegal or has been created by the commission of a criminal offence;
Portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context;
Material which makes rape, or other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour, or sadistic violence look appealing.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether Ofcom has reviewed the compliance of Nation Broadcasting with the original licence conditions of Time 107.5 FM following its (a) rebranding and (b) programming changes.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local radio is an integral part of the communities it exists within, and local commercial and community radio services can bring localities together by reflecting local experiences and delivering local news and information.
Changes made by the Media Act 2024 remove some regulatory burdens on commercial radio operating on FM licenses, including requirements for commercial stations to deliver particular types of content or to target specific groups. This gives commercial radio stations the freedom to organise its programmes to meet the changing needs of its audiences, particularly as listening increasingly shifts to digital.
At the same time, Part 5 of the Media Act now strengthens protections for the regular broadcast of local news and local information. For example stations will be specifically required to provide news which has been gathered within the locality and the area to which they broadcast. The detailed requirements have been set out in new guidance that Ofcom has published on 1 July.
Ofcom is currently running a consultation on the implementation of these changes to local news provision (closed 22 September), and will in due course publish a new Code of Practice that will set out the detailed requirements for commercial radio stations in delivering local news relevant to their local communities.
Any assessment of compliance with licensing requirements, including the requirements to provide local news, and in light of the changes proposed by Nation Radio following its acquisition of Time 107.5, is a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international partners on greater protections for journalists in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is appalled by the extremely high number of fatalities, arrests and detentions of media workers in the State of Palestine. We have called on all parties to fully uphold International Humanitarian Law and ensure protection of civilians including journalists. In a recent joint statement with 28 other members of the Media Freedom Coalition, we called on the Israeli authorities and all other parties to make every effort to ensure that media workers in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank and East Jerusalem can conduct their work freely and safely. The statement also called for all attacks against media workers to be investigated and for those responsible to be prosecuted in compliance with national and international law. Earlier this year the UK provided funds to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Special Fund for Gaza, supporting locally based journalists and providing vital equipment.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the post by the Israeli Government’s Arabic-language X account, published on 25 August 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief globally. We condemn all instances in which social media is used to incite violence, hatred, or discrimination, including on the basis of religion or belief.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions her Department has had with social media platforms on the impact of content removal policies on freedom of speech.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act ensures accountability for tech companies for the safety of their users while upholding freedom of expression online. Ofcom and social media platforms have freedom of expression duties for which they can be held accountable. The Act does not prevent adults from seeking out legal content, nor does it decide what legal content platforms should or should not allow for adults.
The government works closely with Ofcom to ensure the framework is implemented effectively and proportionately, including in relation to freedom of expression. The government regularly engages with a wide range of organisations, including social media platforms, to support implementation.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with Ofcom on the protection of lawful free speech online.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act ensures accountability for tech companies for the safety of their users while upholding freedom of expression online. Ofcom and social media platforms have freedom of expression duties for which they can be held accountable. The Act does not prevent adults from seeking out legal content, nor does it decide what legal content platforms should or should not allow for adults.
The government works closely with Ofcom to ensure the framework is implemented effectively and proportionately, including in relation to freedom of expression. The government regularly engages with a wide range of organisations, including social media platforms, to support implementation.