Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if his Department will publish the recent work of the CSSF Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Government will routinely publish the programme summaries and annual review summaries of Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) programmes on gov.uk. Since its launch in 2022, the 'Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme' in Pakistan has trained university students on digital literacy; trained government officers to identify and tackle hateful narratives; and supported efforts to counter disinformation in the electoral process. The programme summary is due to be published by Summer 2024.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 9041 on Ecuador: Emergency Powers, what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to support Ecuador.
Answered by David Rutley
Staff in Quito and London remain in regular contact with the Ecuadorean authorities following recent security incidents and the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency in January. Our wide-ranging security cooperation includes practical capacity and capability support, such as the donation in early March of essential security equipment which will bolster frontline police capability and protection. I [Minister Rutley] spoke with Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Sommerfeld on 7 March and reaffirmed the UK's commitment to supporting Ecuador in its fight against serious organised crime. We are committed to supporting the country in ensuring that the rule of law prevails.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether officials in her Department have had discussions with Ofcom on the adequacy of Ofcom's plans in respect of regulation of the dark web.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Online Safety Act gives online user-to-user and search providers new duties to tackle illegal user content and activity and keep children on their services safe. Ofcom is the regulator for this regime. It will set out the steps providers can take to fulfil these duties in codes of practice, which must be approved by Parliament before they can take effect.
Ofcom is clear that services on the ‘dark web’ are in scope of the Act. For example, it set this out in its recent consultation on its proposals for how providers should approach their illegal content duties.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Ofcom are working closely together on the implementation of the Online Safety Act.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many cases of online (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation Ofcom has dealt with since the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023; and if he will ask Ofcom to publish those figures regularly.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
Ofcom will have regular discussions with firms within its regulatory remit, details of those meetings are a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator.
Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have responsibility for regulating in-scope companies to ensure they are effectively taking action against illegal disinformation online and disinformation which intersects with the Act’s named categories of harmful content to children. These duties will come into force once Ofcom has completed its consultation and publication of the relevant Codes of Practice.
The Act also updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online. These duties are already in force.
It is a matter for Ofcom to decide what information to publish in the discharge of its regulatory responsibilities.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether Ofcom has had recent discussions with telecommunications companies on tackling online (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
Ofcom will have regular discussions with firms within its regulatory remit, details of those meetings are a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator.
Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have responsibility for regulating in-scope companies to ensure they are effectively taking action against illegal disinformation online and disinformation which intersects with the Act’s named categories of harmful content to children. These duties will come into force once Ofcom has completed its consultation and publication of the relevant Codes of Practice.
The Act also updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online. These duties are already in force.
It is a matter for Ofcom to decide what information to publish in the discharge of its regulatory responsibilities.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many members of staff are currently working at the National Security Online Information Team.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
The National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) tackles online attempts to manipulate the information environment while respecting the right to free speech, by only monitoring themes and trends - not individuals. The team is focused solely on risks posed to national security and public safety, including threats posed by foreign states as well as risks to election integrity.
NSOIT is comprised of civil servants who are employed by DSIT. The team’s size and membership is adjusted according to the nature of the threat which is being faced at any one time. The work produced by NSOIT is shared with other Government departments who have an interest in its areas of focus. However, there are no plans for this work to be published or shared more widely, as this would give malign actors, including hostile states, insights into NSOIT’s capabilities and areas of focus.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to publish any of the work produced by the National Security Online Information Team.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
The National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) tackles online attempts to manipulate the information environment while respecting the right to free speech, by only monitoring themes and trends - not individuals. The team is focused solely on risks posed to national security and public safety, including threats posed by foreign states as well as risks to election integrity.
NSOIT is comprised of civil servants who are employed by DSIT. The team’s size and membership is adjusted according to the nature of the threat which is being faced at any one time. The work produced by NSOIT is shared with other Government departments who have an interest in its areas of focus. However, there are no plans for this work to be published or shared more widely, as this would give malign actors, including hostile states, insights into NSOIT’s capabilities and areas of focus.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many times the Media Literacy Taskforce has met in the last 12 months.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Media Literacy Taskforce provides the government with expert advice on how best to implement our Online Media Literacy Strategy. In the past 12 months we have convened the Taskforce four times. This has included meetings to seek their advice on delivery of the interventions we are funding through our Media Literacy Taskforce Fund, and to consult on research exploring citizens’ barriers to engagement with media literacy initiatives. The report from this research has been published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what (a) fines and (b) enforcement actions have been imposed upon telecoms providers since the Online Safety Act 2023 came into force.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Online Safety Act received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. As with other areas it regulates, Ofcom must first establish codes of practice and enforcement guidance, before duties come into force and enforcement action can be taken. Ofcom has begun a programme of consultations on the relevant codes and guidance, which are expected to be in force by early 2025.
The new laws in the Act apply to online search services and services that allow users to post content or interact with each other online. They do not apply to services outside of this scope – e.g. ‘offline’ telecoms services.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Media Literacy Taskforce has taken to protect the public from (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Media Literacy Taskforce, a body of 17 media literacy experts drawn from the tech industry, civil society, the press sector and academia, was established in March 2022. DSIT consults the Taskforce on how to tackle the key challenges facing the media literacy landscape, in particular that of how to improve provision for citizens who are disengaged or lack access to support.
For example, the Taskforce played a key role in launching the Media Literacy Taskforce Fund, a grant scheme through which we awarded over £800,000 to four innovative media literacy projects delivered over the financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24. These projects seek to build the online safety and critical thinking skills of users from all age groups, empowering them to respond effectively to the threats posed by mis- and disinformation, along with other online harms. Taskforce members advised the government on which projects should be awarded funding, and then helped grant recipients to maximise the impact of their projects.
The Taskforce does not produce its own reports or other written materials for publication. However, Government has committed to publishing annual Action Plans until the end of Financial Year 2024/2025, setting out initiatives to meet the Online Media Literacy Strategy’s ambition. All projects funded in relation to the Strategy are evaluated robustly and findings will be published on gov.uk, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of future media literacy initiatives and informing government policy moving forward.