Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on protecting children and young people online.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.

Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.

Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.