Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will hold discussions with the Leader of the House on making parliamentary time available for scrutiny of Ofcom’s guidance on age verification and age assurance before publication of a government response.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Parliamentary scheduling is a matter for the Business Managers.
The government is focused on implementing the Online Safety Act as quickly as possible. Ofcom published its consultation on draft guidance about use of age assurance for sites displaying pornographic content on 5 December 2023, and this was open for responses until 5 March 2024. The Act requires that Ofcom consult with the Secretary of State before producing this guidance.
For the broader duties under the Act about protecting children from harmful content, we expect Ofcom to publish its draft codes of practice later in the Spring. The Act requires that codes of practice are laid in both Houses before coming into force.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 her Department's media literacy strategy in countering (a) mis- and (b) dis-information.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Improving media literacy is one of the government’s key tools in tackling the harm caused by misinformation and disinformation. To demonstrate how the Government is delivering against the objectives of the Online Media Literacy Strategy, we are publishing annual Action Plans each financial year until the end of 2024/25. Through media literacy grant schemes, we have provided almost £2 million in funding to a range of educational projects.
These projects seek to build the online safety and critical thinking skills of internet users, empowering them to respond effectively to the threats posed by mis- and disinformation, along with other online harms. All funded projects are evaluated robustly, including by independent experts, and findings will be published on gov.uk upon completion. This will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of future media literacy initiatives and inform government policy moving forward.
As part of this work, we established the Media Literacy Taskforce to bring together organisations in the media literacy landscape to amplify, increase and improve media literacy provision across underserved parts of the UK. Taskforce members advised the government on which projects should be awarded funding, and then helped grant recipients to maximise the impact of their projects.
Alongside the Strategy, the Online Safety Act updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle the sale of illegal drugs on (a) social media and (b) other websites.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Drugs ruin lives and devastate communities. The Government is committed to driving down drugs supply in the UK through tough law enforcement against the sale of drugs online.
Our Online Safety Act will introduce measures requiring platforms, including social media sites, to remove content relating to the sale of illegal drugs online. Under this ground-breaking piece of legislation, tech companies must proactively tackle this type of content and prevent users from being exposed to it. If they fail to comply, they risk stiff financial penalties or in the most serious cases, having their sites blocked by the independent regulator, Ofcom. The Online Safety Act delivers the government’s manifesto commitment to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.
We also recognise that social media, gaming sites and other online platforms are critical enablers in the targeting, grooming and facilitation of county lines exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are developing a better understanding of how these platforms are being used and how to disrupt harmful activity.
Considering other websites, the National Crime Agency, along with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally, is mapping and targeting key offenders operating online. Dedicated teams use a range of tools and techniques generally unavailable to most investigators and we make sure they have the resources and powers they need to keep our country safe.
Law enforcement agencies work with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be committing offences such as selling controlled drugs. To support this, proposals are also being taken forward in the Criminal Justice Bill to create a new power enabling law enforcement to suspend IP addresses and/or domain names being used for criminal purposes. This new power will allow agencies to obtain a court order to formally request action by organisations both domestically and outside of the UK.
Furthermore, the Government has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to undertake a review into internet-facilitated drug markets. The ACMD ran a call for evidence which closed in January and expects to publish its findings later this year.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with social media companies on the potential effects of social media on mental health.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers hold regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, including social media platforms, on a range of issues. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.
While most children have a positive experience online, using the internet to connect with peers and to access educational resources, information, and entertainment, the government is concerned about the impact of harmful and age-inappropriate content and activity online.
The Online Safety Act places robust, much-needed responsibilities on technology companies – including social media platforms – to keep all users, but particularly children, safe online.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to help (a) educate young people about the dangers of internet use and (b) prevent engagement in harmful online activities by young people.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the statutory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools, pupils are taught about online safety and harms. This includes being taught about what positive, healthy and respectful online relationships look like, the effects of their online actions on others, how to recognise and display respectful behaviour online, and where to get help and support for issues that occur online. The government’s guidance for primary and secondary school teaching on relationships, sex and health education can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary.
The department has updated the Teaching Online Safety in Schools non-statutory guidance (2023), on how to teach about all aspects of internet safety in a coordinated and coherent way across their curriculum. Teaching about online safety also complements the computing curriculum, which covers the principles of online safety at all key stages, with progression in the content to reflect the different and escalating risks that pupils face. The computing curriculum can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-computing-programmes-of-study.
The statutory ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance, which all schools and colleges must have regard to when drawing up and implementing their own safeguarding policies, has been strengthened with regards to online safety in recent years. Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure online safety is a running and interrelated theme whilst devising and implementing their whole school or college approach to safeguarding and related policies and procedures. This includes doing all that they reasonably can to limit children’s exposure to the harmful online content on the school’s or college’s IT system.
The department has brought forward the review of the RSHE curriculum and statutory guidance. Stakeholders will have the opportunity to feed into the process through a thorough consultation. Following the consultation, the department will make a decision about any new content to be included in the RSHE curriculum. The department expects to publish the revised guidance soon after.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of (1) Egypt, and (2) Israel, about allowing free access to Gaza for all foreign media through the Rafah Crossing.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the valuable work of journalists operating on the ground in Gaza, providing important coverage of the conflict in incredibly challenging circumstances. On 5 December, the UK supported a joint statement of the Media Freedom Coalition expressing concern over the repercussions for the safety of journalists and access to information due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. As the statement highlights, access to reliable, independent and diverse information sources and access to the internet are essential in times of conflict. We call on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and protect civilians, including guaranteeing the protection of journalists and media workers.
We continue to engage closely with the Israeli Government to discuss a range of issues relating to access to Gaza, and we continue to reiterate the need for Israel to open more crossing points into Gaza. We are working with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to support any remaining eligible people still in Gaza.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of (a) smartphone and (b) social media use by under 16s on their (i) mental health and (ii) safety.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to making the UK the safest place to be a child online, as evidenced by the landmark Online Safety Act.
Harmful and age-inappropriate online content and activity can be particularly damaging for children. That is why the Online Safety Act places robust, much-needed responsibilities on technology companies – including social media platforms, search services and other services which host user-generated content – to keep all users, but particularly children, safe online.
In 2019, the UK Chief Medical Officers noted that the available research did not present evidence of a causal relationship between screen-based activities and mental health problems; however, some research found associations between screen-based activities and negative effects such as increased risk of anxiety or depression.
The government is committed to ensuring that children have a positive experience online, using the internet for connecting with peers, as well as to access educational resources, information, and entertainment.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help prevent young people being groomed via the internet to commit crime.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
We are committed to keeping children safe online and are delivering a number of initiatives that support that objective. For example, we are investing up to £145m over three years in our County Lines Programme to crack down on the county lines gangs exploiting our children and young people. Through this Programme we are developing a better understanding of how to disrupt online activity that is aimed at recruiting and exploiting children and young people.
The Online Safety Act 2023 is a key piece of legislation to keep children safe. There are a number of priority offences in the Act which relate to child criminal exploitation such as drug related offences, sexual exploitation and weapons and firearms supply offences. Technology companies must take proactive measures and use systems and processes to remove and limit people’s exposure to related content.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Sri Lankan Online Safety Act on freedom of expression and religion in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Despite concerns expressed by civil society, opposition parties and international internet providers regarding the potential negative impacts of the Online Safety Act, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed it into law on 24 January. The UK also raised concerns about the impact of this Act on freedom of expression and economic growth, including when I met Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe in October, and when Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia, met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry on 25 January. The UK will continue to closely follow developments on this Act.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle the sale of unlicensed drugs online.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Drugs ruin lives and devastate communities. The Government is committed to driving down drugs supply in the UK through tough law enforcement against the sale of drugs online, including on the dark web.
We are clear that tech companies must take responsibility for embedding public safety in their system designs in order to prevent harmful material on their platforms. We expect tech companies to have robust processes in place to swiftly remove illegal content.
Our Online Safety Act will introduce measures requiring platforms to remove content relating to the sale of drugs online. This ground-breaking piece of legislation will compel tech companies to consider the risks associated with all elements of their services and take action to keep users safe. This means that tech companies must proactively tackle this type of content from their platforms and prevent users from being exposed to it. If they fail to comply, they risk stiff financial penalties or in the most serious cases, having their sites blocked by the independent regulator, Ofcom. The Online Safety Act delivers the government’s manifesto commitment to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. The Act is a vital piece of legislation, designed to ensure that tech companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users, particularly children.
We work closely with the National Crime Agency, which in partnership with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally is mapping and targeting key offenders operating online, including the dark net markets. Dedicated teams use a range of tools and techniques generally unavailable to most investigators and we make sure they have the resources and powers they need to keep our country safe.
Law enforcement agencies continue to work with internet service providers to shut down UK-based websites found to be committing offences such as selling drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
We recognise that gangs are increasingly using social media to sell drugs and exploit vulnerable people to help move their illicit commodities. Through the County Lines Programme, we are developing a better understanding of how these platforms are being used and how to disrupt them.