Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to consult stakeholders on the content and nature of the code of practice for social media providers before issuing that code.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Digital Economy Act requires the Secretary of State, before issuing a code of practice, to consult social media providers to whom the code is intended to give guidance and such other persons as the Secretary of State considers it appropriate to consult. We will take forward this consultation as part of the Internet Safety Strategy.
The detail of what the code of practice will include will be decided following this consultation.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will ensure that the code of practice for providers of online social media platforms will include provisions for those providers to fully co-operate with the police on criminal content.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Digital Economy Act requires the Secretary of State, before issuing a code of practice, to consult social media providers to whom the code is intended to give guidance and such other persons as the Secretary of State considers it appropriate to consult. We will take forward this consultation as part of the Internet Safety Strategy.
The detail of what the code of practice will include will be decided following this consultation.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to include measures to tackle (a) hate conduct and (b) extremist content in the code of practice for providers of online social media platforms.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Digital Economy Act requires the Secretary of State, before issuing a code of practice, to consult social media providers to whom the code is intended to give guidance and such other persons as the Secretary of State considers it appropriate to consult. We will take forward this consultation as part of the Internet Safety Strategy.
The detail of what the code of practice will include will be decided following this consultation.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government's policy is on whether a person should be permitted to monitor a digital device registered to a person aged 17 or less for the purposes of obtaining information about a third person in England and Wales.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Organisations or individuals that monitor digital devices registered to a person aged 17 or under for the purposes of obtaining information about a third person, must comply with the Data Protection Act's (DPA) eight data protection principles
These include requiring personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully; to be accurate and up-to-date; not to be kept for longer than is necessary; and to be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects under the DPA. Failure to comply with the Act is an offence. Further information about these obligations can be found on the ICO's website at:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government's policy is on whether a person should be permitted to monitor a digital device for the purposes of damaging or stealing data from that person in England and Wales.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Individuals or organisations that monitor a digital device for the purposes of damaging or stealing data from that person would be in breach of the Data Protection Act (DPA).
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has a range of powers to take action against those who breach the DPA, including the power to serve a Civil Monetary Penalty of up to £500,000. In the most serious cases, section 55 of the DPA makes it an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly obtain, disclose or procure the disclosure of personal data without the consent of the data controller. The offence is punishable by an unlimited fine.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to educate the public of the potential dangers of posting personal information online.
Answered by Matt Hancock
We take the protection of individuals' personal data both online and offline, seriously. The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent authority responsible for administering and enforcing information rights and provides guidance and advice to individuals and organisations on, among other things, the protection of personal data online. The ICO has produced guidance on online safety on its website available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/social-networking/
As part of the new computing curriculum introduced in 2014 pupils are taught how to use technology safely and respectfully, how to keep personal information private, recognise inappropriate content and behaviour, and where to go for help if they have any concerns about online content or contact.
The Government's National Cyber Security Strategy (2016-2021, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cyber-security-strategy-2016-to-2021), backed with £1.9 billion investment, funds the Cyber Aware campaign. Cyber Aware is a cross-government awareness and behaviour change campaign which works with a range of public and private sector partners to encourage the public (and Small and Medium Enterprises) to adopt more secure online behaviour like using a strong separate password for your email account and downloading the latest software updates.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she will be obliged to put into effect recommendations arising from the Independent Review of S4C.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to a comprehensive review of S4C in 2017 covering remit, funding and governance the outcomes of which will inform S4C’s future services.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Independent Review of S4C will include an assessment of the channel's impact in Wales in areas of language use, culture, employment and communities.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to a comprehensive review of S4C in 2017 covering remit, funding and governance. Further details including the name of the reviewer, terms of reference and process will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the needs of the independent television sector are taken on board during the review of S4C.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to a comprehensive review of S4C in 2017 covering remit, funding and governance. Further details including the name of the reviewer, terms of reference and process will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the review of S4C takes on board the views of the Welsh public.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to a comprehensive review of S4C in 2017 covering remit, funding and governance. Further details including the name of the reviewer, terms of reference and process will be announced in due course.