Contributions
1,452 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)I will be brief. The clause is incredibly important. It requires the Secretary of State to prepare and lay before Parliament annual reports about their performance in relation to…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)It seems that our support for the clauses has run out. Clause 147 enables the Secretary of State to give guidance to Ofcom relating to its exercise of its statutory powers and…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)Yes—having direct influence on a regulator, overruling its independence and taking the stance directly themselves. The Minister has made my point for me: if he does not envisage…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)I think the Minister has just made my point for me. If he does not see this happening only in extreme circumstances where a threat is presented or there is an immediate risk to…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)I welcome the Minister’s comments, but I am not convinced by his arguments on the powers given to the Secretary of State on issues of national security or public health and…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)The Minister says that Ofcom can already use that existing power, so why does it not do so?21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)I completely agree with my hon. Friend. We talk time and again about this Bill being world leading, but with that comes a responsibility to show global leadership. Other countries…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)Labour supports the clause, which enables the Secretary of State to give Ofcom a direction to establish an expert committee to advise it on a specific online safety matter. As we…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)As we know, clause 143 introduces a power for the Secretary of State to set out a statement of the Government’s strategic priorities in relation to online safety matters. Given…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)As we all know, the clause as it stands enables the Secretary of State to give Ofcom directions in circumstances where it considers that there is a threat to the health or safety…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)Briefly, before I hand over to my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South, I should say that Labour welcomes clause 137, which gives Ofcom a discretionary power to…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)Again, Labour welcomes clause 136, which is a positive step towards a transparent approach to online safety, given that it requires Ofcom to publish a report about the access that…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)Again, Labour welcomes clause 135, which places a duty on Ofcom to produce its own reports based on information from the transparency reports that providers are required to…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)As we all know, the clause requires Ofcom to publish annual reports on the steps it has taken, when carrying out online safety functions, to uphold users’ rights under articles 8…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)We support clause 132, which ensures that Ofcom is required to understand and measure public opinion concerning providers of regulated services, as well as the experiences and…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)The Minister and his Back Benchers will, I am sure, be tired of our calls for more transparency, but I will be kind to him and confirm that Labour welcomes the provisions in…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)I beg to move amendment 57, in clause 130, page 115, line 4, leave out “18” and insert “6” This amendment changes the period by which the advisory committee must report from 18…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)Clause 130 sets up a committee to advise Ofcom on misinformation and disinformation, which is the only direct reference to misinformation and disinformation in the entire Online…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Thirteenth sitting)I welcome the Minister’s comments about clauses 124 and 126 in answer to my questions, and also his comments about amendments 50 and 51, clarifying the CPR. If the legislation is…21 Jun 2022HANSARDOnline Safety Bill (Fourteenth sitting)Labour supports the intention behind clause 162, because we believe that only by creating specific offences will the messaging around liability and the overall message about…21 Jun 2022