Contributions
1,101 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I make this announcement to the House, I am writing to my counterparts around the world to inform them of what the British Government…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationThis legislation is specifically aimed at harm caused to individuals, so of course, to the extent that there is harm to individuals, such material will fall within the scope of…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationMy hon. Friend makes a very important point. Too often, tech firms say that they cannot do such things, but strangely, when it is in their commercial interest to do so, they find…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationOn age assurance, we are looking at the sort of emerging technology whereby, for example, one can look at how children type and use artificial intelligence to see that it is a…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationAs ever, my hon. Friend raises some very pertinent questions. On the powers for Ofcom, it will be able to interrogate companies on data and equipment. The question of the…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationThe hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and of course I will be happy to extend that discussion. I am already doing so with my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary, but…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationYes, of course I would be delighted to do so. As Members will know, child abuse, sadly, knows no boundaries—the child abuse viewed by people in this country is often generated…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationI pay tribute to the work that my right hon Friend is doing, both on this and through the important work of the Centre for Social Justice. Yes, I can certainly give him that…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationAs the hon. Gentleman may know, we have already issued a call for evidence in respect of loot boxes, and will take appropriate action in response. Many of the issues that he has…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationI am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s welcome for the legislation. He raised some important points. We have not taken powers to remove anonymity, because it is very important for…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationMy hon. Friend the Chairman of the Select Committee asks about the involvement of the Committee; we will of course seek to involve the Committee extensively in the prelegislative…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationI pay tribute to my right hon. and learned Friend and other former Culture Secretaries who are present, all of whom have played a decisive role in helping to shape this important…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationWith permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on our online harms consultation. We now conduct a huge proportion of our lives online. People in the UK spend an average of…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationI am rather sorry that the hon. Lady seems intent on seeing the negative in everything. This is a groundbreaking piece of legislation. Let me go through some of the points that…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationAs a father of primary-age children, I share the hon. Gentleman’s complete outrage that that is possible. This legislation will address exactly that. A site like Pornhub will fall…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationYes, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. There seems to be a degree of complacency among some Opposition Members about the scale of the fines we are proposing. We have never…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationFirst, on blocking offending platforms, we will reserve that power in this legislation; it is a power that will be available to Ofcom. Of course, we engage on exactly those points…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationAs ever, my hon. Friend is absolutely correct. This marks a watershed and introduces that new age of accountability. For too long, tech firms have considered that because of the…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationThrough secondary legislation, we will set out priority harms. I will not go into every last harm, because that will be a process for scrutiny. On the broader point about…15 Dec 2020HANSARD Online Harms ConsultationYes, I do, and I thank my hon. Friend for her question. The financial penalties we are proposing will cause all senior executives to sit up and think. The last thing one would…15 Dec 2020