Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to outlaw the use of artificial intelligence deepfake programmes.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Generative artificial intelligence services have made it easier to produce convincing deepfake content and, whilst there are legitimate use cases this is also impacting a range of crime types.
The Home Office is working closely with law enforcement, international partners, industry and across Government to address the risks associated with deepfakes. This includes reviewing the extent to which existing criminal law provides coverage of AI-enabled offending and harmful behaviour, including the production and distribution of deepfake material using generative AI. If the review suggests alterations to the criminal law are required to clarify its application to AI-generated synthetic and manipulated material then amendments will be considered in the usual way.
The Online Safety Act places new requirements on social media platforms to swiftly remove illegal content - including artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes - as soon as they become aware of it. The Act also 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. This includes enabling users to establish the reliability, accuracy, and authenticity of content.
We have no current plans to ban services which generate deepfakes, however Government has been clear that companies providing AI services should take steps to ensure safety and reduce the risks of misuse. This was discussed at the Government’s AI Safety Summit in November 2023, reinforcing our commitment to international collaboration on this shared challenge.
Crime is recorded on the basis of the underlying offence, not whether a deepfake was involved, and we are therefore unable to provide a figure for deepfake-enabled crimes.
We are unable to provide figures for departmental spending as this is captured according to crime type, or broader work on artificial intelligence, and not broken down into activities specific to deepfakes.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of big technology digital companies on the online news media market.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As the independent Cairncross Review into the future of journalism identified, more and more aspects of society are played out online, and local news publishers are facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models. The Cairncross Review further concluded that some of the biggest technology companies are able to impose unfair terms on publishers, which limits publishers’ ability to monetise their content and threatens the sustainability of the press. We have introduced legislation to address the far-reaching power of the biggest technology firms. Among many other things, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will help to rebalance the relationship between publishers and the online platforms on which they increasingly rely.
We have also supported news publishers through the delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers, and the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy. The BBC also continues to support the sector directly, through the £8 million it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme, which was expanded in 2020 to fund the placement of 165 journalists in newsrooms across the UK.
Separately, Ofcom is exploring the possible impacts of the growth of online news, and the role of online intermediaries in particular, on media plurality, and what, if any, regulatory changes may be necessary to maintain and secure it. We will consider Ofcom’s recommendations when its findings are published.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking to reduce the potential threat of artificial intelligence generated deepfakes being used in elections.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government is committed to safeguarding the UK’s elections and already has established systems and processes in place, to protect the democratic integrity of the UK.
DSIT is the lead department on artificial intelligence and is part of the Defending Democracy Taskforce which has a mandate to safeguard our democratic institutions and processes from the full range of threats, including digitally manipulated content. The Taskforce ensures we have a robust system in place to rapidly respond to any threats during election periods.
Furthermore, the Online Safety Act places new requirements on social media platforms to swiftly remove illegal misinformation and disinformation - including artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes - as soon as they become aware of it. The Act also 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. This includes enabling users to establish the reliability, accuracy, and authenticity of content.
The new digital imprints regime, introduced by the Elections Act 2022, will also increase the transparency of digital political advertising (including artificial intelligence-generated material).
Finally, the threat to democracy from artificial intelligence was discussed at the AI Safety Summit in November 2023, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to international collaboration on this shared challenge.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will provide an update on the steps taken by his Department to implement the recommendations of the Cairncross Review.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
However, as the independent Cairncross Review into the future of journalism identified, society is increasingly moving online and local news publishers are facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models.
The Government supported the majority of Cairncross recommendations and has taken them forward through a range of fiscal and regulatory interventions. This has included delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and our work through the Mid-Term Review of the BBC Charter, exploring how the BBC seeks to act as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, local commercial news outlets. The BBC also continues to support the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme, which was expanded in 2020 to fund the placement of 165 journalists in newsrooms across the UK.
We have also introduced legislation to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, building on the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into online platforms and digital advertising. Among many other things, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will help rebalance the relationship between publishers and online platforms on which they rely increasingly.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Reach plc on its third round of proposed redundancies.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
As society is increasingly moving online and local news publishers are facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models, the Government has taken action to support them.
This includes delivery of a £2 million Future News Fund, the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and our work through the Mid-Term Review of the BBC Charter, exploring how the BBC seeks to act as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, local commercial news outlets. The BBC also continues to support the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme, which was expanded in 2020 to fund the placement of 165 journalists in newsrooms across the UK.
We have also introduced legislation to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, building on the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into online platforms and digital advertising. Among many other things, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will help rebalance the relationship between publishers and online platforms on which they rely increasingly.
DCMS Ministers and officials continue to engage regularly with representatives from across the press sector, including Reach plc, on matters relating to the financial sustainability of the press.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the risks of online scams, particularly for those with limited digital skills.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to protecting those who are most vulnerable to online scams.
The Online Safety Act will require social media providers to take steps to safeguard their users from illegal scams and fraudulent advertising. In overseeing the framework, Ofcom must ensure that there are adequate protections for those that are most vulnerable to online harm.
The legislation also expands Ofcom’s duty to promote media literacy under the 2003 Communications Act. The regulator is now required to raise the public’s awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe online. It will need to publish a strategy for achieving this, which must be updated every three years.
In tandem, the Government is taking action to improve people’s media literacy more widely. In July 2021, we published the Online Media Literacy Strategy. This seeks to support the empowerment of internet users with the skills they need to make safe and informed choices online. Through the Strategy, the Government is funding multiple organisations to support the media literacy and critical thinking skills of vulnerable internet users.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of journalists on the sustainability of local media reporting.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry.
This includes our new digital markets regime, which will help rebalance the relationship between online platforms and those who rely on them – including local press publishers.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support the capacity of local news media in the context of the withdrawal of funding for that sector by Facebook.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. Our new digital markets regime will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide support to local press organisations affected by proposed reductions in BBC funding for local news and radio.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional news outlets as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
To date the Government’s support for the sector has included:
Introducing legislation for a new, pro-competition regime for digital markets, which among many other things will help to rebalance the relationship between news publishers and dominant online platforms;
The delivery of a £2 million pilot innovation fund - the Future News Fund;
The zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers;
The extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025;
The publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy.
The BBC is editorially and operationally independent of the Government, and decisions about how it delivers its services are ultimately a matter for the Corporation. However, the Government has been clear that the BBC must make sure it continues to provide distinctive and genuinely local content that reflects and represents people and communities from all corners of the UK. These services are a key part of the BBC’s public service remit and an example of how the BBC can use its licence fee funding to provide content that is directly relevant to audiences, particularly in areas that may be underserved by the market.
The Government expects Ofcom as the BBC’s independent regulator to ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its public service duties.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the financial sustainability of the regional press industry.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting local and regional newspapers as vital pillars of communities and local democracy. They play an essential role in holding power to account, keeping the public informed of local issues and providing reliable, high-quality information.
We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry. This includes our new digital markets regime, which will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers. This will make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press, including at local level.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.