Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect on small businesses of the potential changes to Google search rankings of those businesses using .eu domain names after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Margot James
The Prime Minister’s deal which was put forward to Parliament would have allowed UK users of .eu domain names to retain their registration of these domain names throughout the duration of the implementation period.We remain are focused on ensuring our smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU with a deal.
As part of our exit negotiations we will be seeking the best possible deal which takes into account the interests of UK citizens and businesses who currently hold .eu domain names, including SMEs.
In the scenario of a no deal, where registrants may no longer fulfil the eligibility criteria for a .eu domain name, registrants may incur costs to transfer to a new domain, as well as associated costs such as updating marketing materials. DCMS has published guidance on this issue on gov.uk
Registrars who sell .eu domain names are responsible for ensuring that their UK registrants of .eu are supported in considering future changes to their .eu domain. DCMS has also sought to raise awareness through UK wide business organisations in 2018/2019, including those that represent small businesses.
Businesses may use search optimisation techniques to improve their visibility on search rankings, through the use of domain name level keywords or social media metrics. We understand that Google has extensive site move documentation in their Help Center to assist moving domain names. UK Government has no role in this process, which relates to commercial decisions taken by the company or organisation.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department were first notified of (a) the roll-out of domain name systems over hypertext transfer protocol secure and (b) the effect of that roll-out on internet service provider blocking.
Answered by Margot James
The Government continually monitors developments in standards bodies including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which have been developing the domain name systems over hypertext transfer protocol secure (DOH) standard from June 2017. Work to understand the potential implications of these changes, including the potential impact of the rollout of DOH on internet service provider blocking is ongoing and officials are advising Ministers as this work progresses.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the value of the UK's broadcasting exports to the EU in the last 12 months.
Answered by Margot James
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) economic estimates based on the latest available data show that the total value of exports to the EU from the audiovisual sector, which include exports of radio and television broadcasting activities, was £9.9 billion in 2016. The government has made no assessment of the number of UK TV programmes sold to EU based channels.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of UK TV programmes sold to EU-based channels in the last 12 months.
Answered by Margot James
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) economic estimates based on the latest available data show that the total value of exports to the EU from the audiovisual sector, which include exports of radio and television broadcasting activities, was £9.9 billion in 2016. The government has made no assessment of the number of UK TV programmes sold to EU based channels.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the protections for children and young people proposed in the Online Harms White Paper of adopting DNS over HTTPS.
Answered by Margot James
We recognise the potential for change that DNS over HTTPS introduces and are working with industry to ensure that regulatory needs can be provided for and to seek solutions to any potential issues with online protections.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of people whose online parental controls could be affected by the adoption of DNS over HTTPS.
Answered by Margot James
We are aware that the adoption of DNS over HTTPS could impact online parental controls. We are working with industry with industry to understand both their plans for the implementation of DNS over HTTPS, and for solutions to maintain online parental controls.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on online protections for children and young people of the Internet Engineering Task Force DNS over HTTPS (DOH) protocol; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
Whilst we look to support capabilities that seek to deliver security and privacy to the UK online, we are concerned about the potential unintended consequences.
DCMS is working closely with industry, stakeholders and regulators to seek solutions to any potential issues with online protections, as part of our ongoing work to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many internet browser providers have informed his Department that they will not be adopting the Internet Engineering Task Force DNS over HTTPS (DOH) protocol.
Answered by Margot James
How DOH will be deployed is still a subject of discussion within the industry, both for browser providers and the wider internet industry. We are aware of the public statements made by some browser providers on deployment and we are seeking to understand definitively their rollout plans. DCMS is in discussions with browser providers, internet industry and other stakeholders and we are keen to see a resolution that is acceptable for all parties.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has carried out an impact assessment on the effect of banning Huawei equipment from non-core components of the 5G network on the speed of 5G rollout.
Answered by Margot James
The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review in July 2018 set out the Government’s strategy for delivering 5G ambitions. The ambitions on 5G are for the UK to become a world leader in the technology and for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027.
The terms of reference for the Telecoms Supply Chain Review were published on gov.uk on 8 November 2018. The decisions of the Review will be announced in due course and to Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to change its 5G roll-out targets in light of the reported decision to limit the use of Huawei equipment in the UK's 5G infrastructure.
Answered by Margot James
The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review in July 2018 set out the Government’s strategy for delivering 5G ambitions. The ambitions on 5G are for the UK to become a world leader in the technology and for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027.
The terms of reference for the Telecoms Supply Chain Review were published on gov.uk on 8 November 2018. The decisions of the Review will be announced in due course and to Parliament.