Contributions
466 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Online Safety BillIf there is any area of doubt, I shall be happy to follow it up, but, as I said earlier, I think we would expect that if the regulator establishes through the codes of practice…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillOn that point, if a platform has a policy not to accept a certain sort of content, I think the regulators should expect it to say in its transparency report what it is doing to…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillI agree with my hon. Friend on both points. I discussed the point about researcher access with him last week, when our roles were reversed, so I am sympathetic to that. There is a…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillWe have had a wide-ranging debate of passion and expert opinion from Members in all parts of the House, which shows the depth of interest in this subject, and the depth of concern…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillI can assure the hon. and learned Lady that I am happy to carry on the dialogue that she had with my predecessor and meet her to discuss this at a further date.12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillThe right hon. Gentleman makes a very important point and, as he knows, there is a wider ongoing Government review related to advertising online, which is a very serious issue. I…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillOn the amendments that the former Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp), spoke to, the word “consistently” has not been removed from the text. There…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillIt does focus on systems as well as content. We often talk about content because it is the exemplar for the failure of the systems, but the systems are entirely within the scope…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillVery briefly, and then I want to wrap up.12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillWe have had an important debate raising a series of extremely important topics. While the Government may not agree with the amendments that have been tabled, that is not because…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillIt is because of the danger of such a sentiment that this Bill is so important. It not just sets the targets and requirements of companies to act against illegal content, but…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillWell, the regulator is required, and has the power, to take enforcement action against companies for failing to do so. That is what the legislation sets out, and we will be in a…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillIt is because the proposal would not make such content more illegal than it is now. It is already illegal and there are already legal duties on companies to act. The regulator’s…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillI am quoting that case merely because it is a good example of how, if we have better systems, we can get a better result. As part of the codes of practice, Ofcom will be able to…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillThe Bill absolutely addresses the sharing of non-consensual images in that way, so that would be something the regulator should take enforcement action against— [Official Report,…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillWith people who have appeared in pornographic films consensually and signed contracts to do so, that would be a very different matter from the question of intimate images being…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillI was referring to the amendment’s requirement to list that as part of the priority illegal harms. The priority illegal harms set out in the Bill are all based on existing UK Acts…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillAs I said earlier, in establishing the threshold for priority illegal offences, the current threshold of laws that exist offline should provide good guidance. I would expect that…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillThat is entirely right, and in closing I say that the Bill does what we have always asked for it to do: it gives absolute clarity that illegal things offline must be illegal…12 Jul 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillI am sorry to intervene so early in the hon. Lady’s speech, and thank her for her kind words. I personally agree that the question of categorisation needs to be looked at again,…12 Jul 2022