Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the scope for criminal sanctions in the Online Safety Bill where there is a consistent failure by tech companies to meet the required safety duties; and if she will make a statement.

The government published the draft Online Safety Bill in May for pre-legislative scrutiny, which is due to report in December. As set out in the Bill, Ofcom will have robust enforcement powers to deliver a culture of compliance, deter companies from breaching the rules and hold them to account if they do. These will include criminal sanctions for senior managers.