Digital Safety: Children Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Leigh Ingham
Main Page: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)Department Debates - View all Leigh Ingham's debates with the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
(4 days, 22 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Kanishka Narayan
My hon. Friend is right to say that the issue of concern is not whether there are some incremental changes but whether our children are safe online, and that is at the forefront of my mind. We are looking at the quickest way of achieving such an outcome. We are preparing legislative options alongside the engagement that we are already carrying out, and if we are not able to secure substantive change to deliver that outcome, we will not hesitate to legislate.
Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)
A little while ago I ran a consultation in my constituency with 60 young people and teachers, which the Minister kindly attended. While they would welcome the action taken today, they wanted to see significant regulation of tech companies, because a ban is easily avoided. What further steps are the Government considering to protect young people through regulation?
Kanishka Narayan
One of the firm lessons that I learned from my hon. Friend’s engagement—and such depth of engagement—with young people in Staffordshire was the need to ensure that the changes we make online also reflect better opportunities offline. I know that she provides extensive opportunities for young people in her constituency. We will make sure that when we are acting on this issue, we are looking at the full range of their experiences.