On 28 and 29 April 2020, the Minister of State for Digital and Culture Caroline Dinenage MP and the Minister of State at the Home Office James Brokenshire MP, responded to written questions regarding internet safety and online harms. In their responses, they detailed what the Government is doing to protect people online throughout the coronavirus crisis, as more and more people are turning to the internet whilst at home. They also outlined the next steps for online harms legislation.
The full written questions can be seen below:
Internet: Safety
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
28 April 2020
Kate Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals on online harms in respect of (a) people working from home and (b) children being educated at home during the covid-19 outbreak.
Caroline Dinenage: The government is committed to making the UK the safest place to be online. The next step for our online harms proposals is to publish the full government response, which we will do later this year. We will follow that with legislation, once Parliamentary time allows. We recognise that the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has impacted everyone’s daily lives and it is likely that more people will be spending more time online. The government has published new guidance which outlines steps that people can take to stay connected and safe online during this time. The guidance also provides more detailed information for parents and carers to manage children’s safety online.
Internet: Safety
Home Office
29 April 2020
Conor Mcginn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish her Department’s list of identified online harms and the groups at risk from each of them.
James Brokenshire: I take the problem of online harms very seriously and am clear that while companies have taken some positive steps, more needs to be done to tackle online harms.
The Government committed to introducing new online harms legislation in the Queen’s speech on 19th December. The legislation will build on proposals in last year’s Online Harms White Paper and will establish a new duty of care on companies towards their users, overseen by an independent regulator. The White Paper did provide an indicative list of harms. However, that list was neither exhaustive nor fixed. Online harms legislation will need to be sufficiently flexible, so that it is responsive to emerging forms of harmful content and behaviour as well as new technologies, while at the same time providing sufficient certainty to companies. We are working with stakeholders to ensure that legislation and the process for defining harms in scope of legislation meets the dual needs of flexibility and certainty. Further information on this will be provided in the full government response to the White Paper consultation.