Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to review the requirement for platforms to implement client-side scanning and other automated content analysis tools under the Online Safety Act 2023 in the context of the scanning of private cloud storage and encrypted communications.

The Online Safety Act does not require platforms to implement client-side scanning or other automated content analysis tools on content communicated privately. The Act states that Ofcom may not recommend the use of proactive technology, such as client-side scanning, to analyse user-generated content communicated privately.

This means that Ofcom’s codes cannot recommend that service providers deploy proactive technology in private or encrypted communications. The Department has no plans to review this section of the Act.