Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of existing laws in preventing the distribution of illegal content, including extreme pornography and prohibited images of children, via online services.

Online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) is an appalling crime that this government is committed to stamping out.

The UK already has some of the most robust legislation in the world to combat online child sexual abuse.

Possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment. In addition, the offence of taking, making, distribution and possession with a view to distribution of any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child under 18 carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.

In addition, we have strengthened legislation to ensure that those who arrange (or facilitate) to meet a child under the age of 13 for sexual purposes receive sentences commensurate to their crimes. In the PCSC Act, we have amended Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to include offences against children under 13 (Sections 5-8) and increased the maximum sentence from 14 years to life imprisonment.

The Government is bringing forward the Online Safety Bill, which will require user-to-user and search services to tackle illegal content. The most stringent obligations relate to child sexual abuse and exploitation. Companies will be required to introduce proactive measures to prevent their users from encountering priority illegal content. This includes extreme pornography and child sexual abuse material.