Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria will be used to determine which social media platforms are subject to the proposed restrictions on children's access.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Keeping children safe online is a priority for this government. That is why the Secretary of State announced a ban on social media platforms offering their services to under-16s.
We aim to use the same model as Australia. This means capturing user to user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction, which allow users to post material alongside algorithms. A narrowly defined list of exemptions, including messaging and educational services, will also be set out and kept under review.
The Secretary of State will set out the final criteria in regulations that she brings forward before the end of 2026.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to enforce restrictions on high-risk online activities, including (1) live-streaming, and (2) contact with strangers.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has announced its intention that live streaming and stranger communication, including in gaming, will be switched off by default for 16- and 17-year-olds and banned completely for under-16s. Services will need to enforce these restrictions through robust age checks, with requirements set out in regulations later this year.
The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom’s leadership, making clear that enforcing the Online Safety Act, and these new protections, must be a top priority.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) age-assurance technologies, and (2) any improvements in such technologies required to implement their proposed social media restrictions.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Age assurance technologies play an important role in ensuring that platforms are providing an age-appropriate experience for children on their services.
Ofcom has agreed to launch a rapid assessment of what constitutes highly effective age assurance for establishing whether someone is over 16. Ahead of this, Ofcom are set to publish a report on the effectiveness of age assurance by July 2026, which will help broaden our evidence base and inform future policy options.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extra resources required by OFCOM to support the proposed age-based restrictions for social media platforms.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The government will make sure that Ofcom has the resourcing it needs to implement and enforce its new duties, including age based restrictions on social media platforms. The Secretary of State has urged Ofcom’s new chair to consider what changes might be needed to Ofcom’s structures and ways of working to deliver effective implementation of its duties.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how man (1) companies have been prosecuted, and (2) fines have been issued, under the provisions of the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Technology Secretary has repeatedly been clear that Government fully supports Ofcom using the full force of the powers that it has been given by Parliament.
Ofcom, the independent regulator for online safety, publishes details of its enforcement action on its website. In total, it has opened investigation into 94 sites since compliance became enforceable, including issuing 8 fines to 5 providers (totalling £2m) one of which has been paid, one is being appealed and the remainder remain within the deadline for payment.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value of advertising revenue to websites hosting illegal content, as set out in the recent report by Adalytics.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The government continually assesses the impact of online services’ activities on UK citizens from a wide range of sources.
The Online Safety Act establishes a new regulatory regime for online services including platforms and search engines. It gives these services duties to tackle illegal content and protect children from harmful content. Ofcom is the regulator for this regime. It has strong enforcement powers if platforms fail to comply. These include business disruption measures. Through these powers, third-party service providers can be required, with court approval, to withdraw services from a non-compliant platform. For example, this could include a requirement on advertising services to withdraw from a particular non-compliant platform.