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: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when companies in scope of the Online Safety Bill will be provided with a draft list of priority categories for “legal but harmful” content for (1) adults, and (2) children.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Priority harmful content to children and adults will be set out in secondary legislation once the Secretary of State has been granted the relevant powers to make regulations for priority harmful content under the Bill.
Her Majesty’s Government has a duty to consult Ofcom on the proposed priority categories of harmful content before designating them in secondary legislation.
Setting out the priority harms in secondary legislation will allow Her Majesty’s Government to respond to changing risks to children and adults online, ensuring that new, currently unforeseen harms can be dealt with as they emerge.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have prepared a draft list of priority categories for “legal but harmful” content for (1) adults, and (2) children, which is due to be set out in secondary legislation under the proposed Online Safety Bill.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Priority harmful content to children and adults will be set out in secondary legislation once the Secretary of State has been granted the relevant powers to make regulations for priority harmful content under the Bill.
Her Majesty’s Government has a duty to consult Ofcom on the proposed priority categories of harmful content before designating them in secondary legislation.
Setting out the priority harms in secondary legislation will allow Her Majesty’s Government to respond to changing risks to children and adults online, ensuring that new, currently unforeseen harms can be dealt with as they emerge.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what technical feasibility assessment they have undertaken regarding the (1) journalistic, (2) news publisher, and (3) content of democratic importance, exemptions set out in the Online Safety Bill.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government is confident that the protections for recognised news publishers, journalistic content, and content of democratic importance are technically feasible and that the Bill’s definition of the relevant terms is appropriate.
Recognised news publishers’ content will be exempted from platforms’ new online safety duties. This means tech companies will be under no legal obligation to apply their new safety duties to that content. The criteria under which an organisation qualifies as a publisher are set in the Bill. When drafting these criteria, Her Majesty’s Government has taken significant care to ensure established news publishers are captured, while limiting the opportunity for others to benefit.
Category 1 service providers will also need to have clear policies relating to their treatment of journalistic content and content of democratic importance, and to ensure these are enforced consistently. Ofcom will set out further details in codes of practice about how companies can comply with these duties.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the definitions provided in the Online Safety Bill for (1) journalistic content, (2) content of democratic importance, and (3) news publisher content.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Her Majesty’s Government is confident that the protections for recognised news publishers, journalistic content, and content of democratic importance are technically feasible and that the Bill’s definition of the relevant terms is appropriate.
Recognised news publishers’ content will be exempted from platforms’ new online safety duties. This means tech companies will be under no legal obligation to apply their new safety duties to that content. The criteria under which an organisation qualifies as a publisher are set in the Bill. When drafting these criteria, Her Majesty’s Government has taken significant care to ensure established news publishers are captured, while limiting the opportunity for others to benefit.
Category 1 service providers will also need to have clear policies relating to their treatment of journalistic content and content of democratic importance, and to ensure these are enforced consistently. Ofcom will set out further details in codes of practice about how companies can comply with these duties.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the proposed Online Safety Bill will address the availability of (1) violent, or (2) abusive, pornography online.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Bill was introduced to Parliament on 17 March. The Bill will require user-to-user and search services to tackle illegal content on their sites.
Revenge and extreme pornography will be listed as priority illegal offences in the Online Safety Bill. This means that companies will need to have proportionate systems and processes in place to seek out and remove this type of content or face regulatory enforcement action.
Providers of services which are likely to be accessed by children will also have additional duties to protect children from harmful and age-inappropriate content such as pornography, even if it is not illegal. There will also be specific duties on providers which publish pornographic content on their services to prevent children from accessing that content.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers the proposed Online Safety Bill will give Ofcom (1) to investigate adult services' implementation of robust age verification, and (2) to take enforcement action where necessary.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Bill, introduced to Parliament on 17 March 2022, places duties on providers which publish or place pornographic content on their services to prevent children from accessing that content. The Online Safety Bill will not mandate the use of specific technologies to comply with their new duties, as it is vital that the Bill is future-proofed. However, it is expected that companies may use age verification technologies to prevent children from accessing online pornography.
The Bill will also give Ofcom powers to investigate potential non-compliance with the new regime, for example a failure to sufficiently prevent children from accessing pornographic content. This includes information-gathering powers. Ofcom will also be able to require individuals to attend an interview when investigating possible non-compliance.
The Bill also provides Ofcom with robust enforcement powers to take action when platforms do not comply with their obligations, including requiring improvements, imposing substantial fines, and pursuing business disruption measures (including blocking).
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of UK children who have accessed online pornography since their decision not to bring Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 into force in October 2019.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Bill will go further than the Digital Economy Act 2017, protecting children from a broader range of harmful content on a wider range of services. The Digital Economy Act was criticised for not covering social media companies, through which a considerable quantity of pornographic material is accessible, and which research suggests children use to access pornography. The online safety framework will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video-sharing platforms, fora and search engines.
HM Government has commissioned research to build the evidence base on harms to children online. This will review the prevalence and impact of a wide range of harmful content online, including pornography, to ensure that the Online Safety Bill provides comprehensive protections for children.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to monitor the effectiveness of social tariffs offered by broadband providers.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
A range of broadband social tariff packages are now available in the market to support those on low incomes or who receive specific benefits. BT, for example, recently launched a Home Essentials package which will provide fibre and voice services to those on Universal Credit starting at £15 per month. Virgin, Hyperoptic and other providers are offering similar packages to assist households on low incomes. Between them, these products are available to 99% of households across the country.
The Government continues to encourage more fixed-line providers to introduce a social tariff and we will continue to monitor the provision in the market. We will also continue to work with Ofcom, which has a statutory duty to review the affordability of telecommunication services, to do this.
In December, the Government strengthened Ofcom's consumer protection rules, to ensure that consumers can access the right information to make informed decisions about new services, have stronger contract rights, and switch providers more easily. Ofcom also published its Vulnerability Guide in July 2020, setting out how the sector should support vulnerable households struggling to pay their bills.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that broadband internet access is affordable for people in receipt of low incomes and benefits.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
A range of broadband social tariff packages are now available in the market to support those on low incomes or who receive specific benefits. BT, for example, recently launched a Home Essentials package which will provide fibre and voice services to those on Universal Credit starting at £15 per month. Virgin, Hyperoptic and other providers are offering similar packages to assist households on low incomes. Between them, these products are available to 99% of households across the country.
The Government continues to encourage more fixed-line providers to introduce a social tariff and we will continue to monitor the provision in the market. We will also continue to work with Ofcom, which has a statutory duty to review the affordability of telecommunication services, to do this.
In December, the Government strengthened Ofcom's consumer protection rules, to ensure that consumers can access the right information to make informed decisions about new services, have stronger contract rights, and switch providers more easily. Ofcom also published its Vulnerability Guide in July 2020, setting out how the sector should support vulnerable households struggling to pay their bills.