Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge
Main Page: Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge's debates with the Ministry of Justice
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“Content removal reporting and enforcement(1) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision for—(a) the way in which offences under section 66B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film) can be reported to the relevant internet service as defined in section 228 of the Online Safety Act 2023 (internet service), and (b) the mechanism by which content created as a result of offences under that section must be removed by the relevant internet service.(2) The regulations must include—(a) a mandatory removal period or de-indexing period, as the case may be, for content that the reporting party reasonably believes to be in breach of section 66B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 of 48 hours,(b) a requirement that the reporting process must be clear and accessible, and guidance on what constitutes clear and accessible reporting,(c) sanctions for malicious reporting,(d) sanctions for internet services for the failure to remove duplicates of offending material,(e) a review period after the initial 48 hours for assessing suspected offending content, and(f) a statement of which internet services are within scope of this section, produced after consultation with the Revenge Porn Helpline and other relevant stakeholders.”
Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge (Con)
My Lords, Amendment 275 is in my name and those of the noble Lords, Lord Clement-Jones and Lord Pannick, and the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. I apologise to the House for the last-minute degrouping of this amendment. It is a vital amendment and I wanted to ensure that it could be brought back at Third Reading.
The amendment mandates the Secretary of State to create a mechanism whereby sites have to have clear and accessible reporting systems for content that a person believes breaches Section 66B of the Sexual Offences Act on the sharing of non-consensual intimate images. Vitally, it mandates internet services to remove or de-index this content within 48 hours. Critically, it includes sanctions for internet services to remove duplicates.
Last year I was contacted by Christina Trevanion, host of “Bargain Hunt”. Christina spoke to me about the ongoing trauma she faced trying to remove non-consensual, sexually explicit deepfakes of herself from the internet. She is one of many brave survivors of intimate image abuse who spoke out and inspired my 48-hour take-down amendment. She said, “It’s too late for me, but I do not want my daughters to grow up in a world where posting a photograph of themselves online puts them at risk”.
The amendment was based on the precedent set in the USA with the TAKE IT DOWN Act, itself inspired by the incredible advocacy of a young woman called Elliston and her mum, Anna. Anna described to me the unending trauma her daughter suffered knowing that, for the rest of her life, those pictures could be there. Anna’s biggest priority was getting those images taken down from the internet. For victims such as Christina and Elliston, every day that goes by is another day when they live in constant fear that their content will be viewed, downloaded or reshared in an ongoing cycle of revictimisation. I am delighted that the Government have agreed to work with me on this amendment. I think the Minister knows how passionate I am about this.
I am very pleased that the Government have committed to bring back their own amendment at Third Reading; we will get the exact details in a second. I am very keen to secure an undertaking that we can return to this issue at Third Reading. If for any reason the Government do not follow through and bring an amendment back in time for Third Reading, I reserve the right to bring back my Amendment 275, covering all the elements I have raised on this important issue. I am very grateful to the Minister for her collaboration and determination to work together on this. I know she is committed to getting it right. I ask her to confirm that the Government will provide an undertaking to bring back amendments at Third Reading to address the 48-hour take-down requirement for intimate images. I beg to move.
Lord Davies of Gower (Con)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for her amendment, which would place a duty on the Secretary of State, within 12 months of the Act being passed, to make provisions for the way in which offences of sharing intimate images are reported and the mechanisms by which content is removed by the relevant internet service. I understand that the Government have given my noble friend an undertaking for Third Reading, and I am pleased that they have done so.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Baroness Levitt) (Lab)
My Lords, I am pleased to put on record that this Government completely accept and agree with the intention that underlies this amendment. That is why, as I said earlier, the Government will introduce a legal duty for tech platforms to take down reported non-consensual intimate image abuse within 48 hours, to ensure that victims get rapid protection. This change, which will be brought forward at Third Reading, will create a strong, enforceable foundation for getting harmful material removed from online circulation, so that victims are no longer left chasing platforms for action. To support swift and effective action to remove this material by internet infrastructure providers, we will also explore any barriers to blocking and how this can be addressed. This will help ensure that rogue sites operating outside the scope of the Online Safety Act will be targeted. I appreciate the noble Baroness’s eagerness to see this change brought about quickly, but as the Government intend to bring forward amendments to this effect at Third Reading, I hope she will be content to withdraw her amendment.
Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge (Con)
Can the Minister confirm to the House that not only will the Government be bringing forward amendments but if I am not satisfied with them, I may bring back my own?
Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge (Con)
May I just check that that is an undertaking? We have a nod. Thank you. I am very pleased that we will return to this issue at Third Reading, but for now, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
“Register of intimate images shared without consent(1) No later than 12 months from the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument establish a statutory Non-Consensual Intimate Image Register for the purpose of preventing access to and dissemination of material shared online in contravention of section 66B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film) (“NCII material”).(2) The Register must contain hashes of verified NCII material.(3) The Secretary of State must appoint a regulator for the Register to be responsible for oversight, enforcement, and coordination with internet service providers and online platforms.(4) Providers designated by the appointed regulator must use the Register to prevent the re-upload or distribution of NCII material.(5) The Secretary of State must issue guidance on governance, accuracy, proportionality, and privacy safeguards.(6) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”Member’s explanatory statement
For the purposes of this amendment, the Revenge Porn Helpline is the preferred body to manage the register. The service currently runs a voluntary hashing register and has indicated that they would be able to operate it. The register would be the authoritative source for platforms, search engines, and ISPs to block, delist and prevent access to NCII content.