Feryal Clark MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Jun 2025 · Online Safety: Children · Hansard source

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  I do indeed agree with my hon. Friend on that. Child sexual exploitation and abuse is one of the most horrendous harms, and the Government are committed to ensuring that UK law keeps pace with criminal use of technologies including AI. As he says, we have introduced a world-leading offence in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models that have been optimised to create child sexual abuse material. This new offence builds on the protections in the Online Safety Act, and I am very clear that nothing is off the table when it comes to keeping our children safe.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Online Safety Act: Implementation · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) for securing this debate on the implementation of the Online Safety Act. I know that he has been following the Bill throughout its passage and has been a critic of every Minister, even his Government’s Ministers, whenever the Bill was watered down or delayed, so I expect him to hold all of us to account. I am grateful to him and all the hon. Members who have spoken this morning. The Government share their commitment to keeping users safe online. It is crucial that we continue to have conversations about how best to achieve that goal. The Online Safety Act lays the foundations for strong protections against evil content and harmful material online. It addresses the complex nature of online harm, recognising that harm is not limited to explicit content and extending to the design and functionality of online services. We know that the legislation is not perfect. I hear that at every such debate, but we are committed to supporting Ofcom to ensure that the Act is implemented quickly, as this is the fastest way to protect people online. 2025 is the year of action for online safety, and the Government have already taken a number of steps to build on Ofcom’s implementation of the Act. In November last year, the Secretary of State published the draft “Statement Of Strategic Priorities for online safety”. That statement is designed to deliver a comprehensive, forward-looking set of online safety priorities for the full term of this Government. It will give Ofcom a backing to be bold on specific areas, such as embedding safety by design, through considering all aspects of a service’s business model, including functionalities and algorithms. We are also working to build further on the evidence base to inform our next steps on online safety, and I know that this issue was debated earlier this week. In December, we announced a feasibility study to understand the impact of smartphones and social media on children, and in the Data (Use and Access) Bill, we have included provisions to allow the Secretary of State to create a new researcher access regime for online safety data. That regime is working to fix a systemic issue that has historically prevented researchers from understanding how platforms operate, and it will help to identify and mitigate new and preventable harms. We have also made updates to the framework, such as strengthening measures to tackle intimate image abuse under the Online Safety Act, and we are following up on our manifesto commitment to hold perpetrators to account for the creation of explicit, non-consensual deepfake images through amendments to the Data Bill. We are also building on the measures in the Online Safety Act that allow Ofcom to take information on behalf of coroners. Through the Data Bill, we are bringing in additional powers to allow coroners to request Ofcom to issue a notice requiring platforms to preserve children’s data, which can be crucial for investigations into a child’s tragic death. My hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Lola McEvoy) raised Jools’ law, of which I am very aware, and I believe that she is meeting Ministers this week to discuss it further. Finally, we recently announced that, in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing multiple offences to tackle AI sexual abuse, including a new offence for possessing, creating or supplying AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. Members have raised the issue of the Act’s implementation being too slow. We are aware of the frustrations over the amount of time that it has taken to implement the Online Safety Act, not least because of the importance of the issues at hand. We are committed to working with Ofcom to ensure that the Online Safety Act is implemented as quickly and effectively as possible.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Draft Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025. Thank you for coming to save the day, Sir Christopher; it is an honour to serve under your chairmanship. These regulations were laid before Parliament on 16 December 2024. As the Online Safety Act 2023 sets out, the Secretary of State must set thresholds for three categories of service: category 1, category 2A and category 2B. The services that fall into each of those categories will be required to comply with additional duties, with category 1 services having the most duties placed on them. The duties are in addition to the core duties that apply to all user-to-user and search services in scope. The 2023 Act requires that specific factors must be taken into account by the Secretary of State when deciding thresholds for each category. The threshold conditions for user-to-user services must be set on user numbers and functionalities as well as any other characteristics or factors relating to the user-to-user part of the service that the Secretary of State deems relevant. For category 1, the key consideration is the likely impact of the number of users of the user-to-user part of the service and its functionalities, on how quickly, easily and widely regulated user-generated content is disseminated by means of the service. For category 2A, the key consideration is the likely impact of the number of users of the search engine on the level of risk of harm to individuals from search content that is illegal or harmful to children. For category 2B, the key consideration is the likely impact of the number of users of the user-to-user part of the service and its functionalities on the level of risk of harm to individuals from illegal content or content that is harmful to children disseminated by means of the service. Those conditions form the basis of Ofcom’s independent research and advice, as published in March 2024, which the Secretary of State was required to consider when setting threshold conditions. In laying these regulations before Parliament, the Secretary of State has considered the research carried out and the advice from Ofcom and agreed to its recommendations. I understand that this decision will not please everyone. In particular, I recognise that the thresholds are unlikely to capture so-called “small but risky services”, as per Baroness Morgan’s successful amendment, which made it possible to create a threshold condition by reference only to functionalities and any other factors or characteristics. However, it is important to note that all regulated user-to-user and search services, no matter their size, will be subject to existing illegal content duties and, where relevant, child safety duties. The categories do not change that fact. If the codes on illegal content duties currently laid before Parliament pass without objection, the duties will be in effect by this spring. They will force services to put in place systems and processes to tackle illegal content. If a service is likely to be accessed by children, the child safety duties will require services to conduct a child safety risk assessment and provide safety measures for child users. We expect that those will come into effect this summer, on the basis that the codes for the duties will have passed by then. Together, the illegal content and child safety duties will mark the biggest material change in online safety for UK citizens since the internet era began. We expect the Online Safety Act to cover more than 100,000 services of various sizes, showing that the legislation goes far and wide to ensure important protections for users, particularly children, online. The instrument before us will enable additional duties for categorised services. All categorised services must comply with transparency reporting duties. They must also have terms on the ability of parents to access information about children’s use of a service in the event of a child’s death. Category 1 services will have the most additional requirements. They will have to give adults more choice about the content they see and the people they interact with, and they must protect journalistic and news publisher content and content of democratic importance. The duties will also ensure that we can hold these companies to account over their terms of service, ensuring that they keep the promises they make to their users. Once in force, the regulations will enable Ofcom to establish a public register of categorised services, which it expects to publish this summer. Ofcom will then consult on the draft codes of practice and guidance where relevant for additional duties. Ofcom will also do additional work to tackle small but risky services. Ofcom’s work to tackle egregious content and enhance accountability does not stop with this instrument, which takes me back to the small but risky services that I mentioned. The horrifying stories I have heard about these sites during a number of debates recently are truly heartbreaking; we must do everything in our power to prevent vulnerable people from falling victim to such circumstances. I was pleased to see Ofcom set out in September 2024 its targeted approach to tackling small but risky services, which includes a dedicated supervision taskforce and a commitment to move to rapid enforcement action where necessary. That followed a letter from the Secretary of State to Ofcom inquiring about those services. I am confident that the regulatory framework, combined with the bespoke taskforce, will work to keep all UK citizens safe online, but I must stress that the Secretary of State will hold the thresholds under review going forward. If there is evidence that the categories have become outdated or that they inadequately protect users, he will not shy away from updating them or reviewing the legislation, as he has made clear recently. Finally, the online world that we are looking to govern is complex and ever-changing. The Act will not solve every problem, but it will bring real benefit to children and adults who have to contend with an unsafe online world for far too long. We should see the instruments we are debating as a step in that process and a first iteration, not as something fixed or set in stone, because there is much more to do. Our foremost priority is the timely implementation of the Act to enforce the additional duties as soon as possible. Years of delay and indecision have already come at a heartbreaking cost for vulnerable children and adults. Now it is time to deliver, but that relies on Parliament approving the categorisation thresholds without delay.

• 13 Jan 2025 · Children’s Social Media Accounts · Hansard source

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  I will come to that point. On the issue of a ban on smartphones and social media for under-16s, we are focused on building the evidence base to inform any future action. We have launched a research project looking at the links between social media and children’s wellbeing. I heard from the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding) that that needs to come forward and I will pass that on to my colleagues in the Department. My hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) mentioned the private Member’s Bill in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister). We are aware of his Bill and share his commitment to keeping children safe online. We are aware of the ongoing discussion around children’s social media and smartphone use, and it is important that we allocate sufficient time to properly debate the issue. We are focused on implementing the Online Safety Act and building the evidence base to inform any future action. Of course, we look forward to seeing the detail of my hon. Friend’s proposal and the Government will set out their position on that in line with the parliamentary process. My hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Lola McEvoy) raised the issue of Ofcom’s ambitions. Ofcom has said that its codes will be iterative, and the Secretary of State’s statement will outline clear objectives for it to require services to improve safety for their users. The hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale) mentioned engagement with children, and we know how important that is. Ofcom engaged with thousands of children when developing its codes, and the Children’s Commissioner is a statutory consultee on those codes, but of course we must do more. The hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty) raised the matter of mental health services and our commitment in that regard. He is right that the Government’s manifesto commits to rolling out Young Futures hubs. That national network is expected to bring local services together to deliver support for not only teenagers at risk of being drawn into crime, but those facing mental health challenges, and, where appropriate, to deliver universal youth provision. As he rightly said, that is within the health portfolio, but I am happy to write to him with more detail on where the programme is. We want to empower parents to keep their children safe online. We must also protect children’s right to express themselves freely, and safeguard their dignity and autonomy online.

• 18 Dec 2024 · Internet Service Providers and Suicide-related Content · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) for opening the debate and all other colleagues who have contributed. I know that this issue will be close to the hearts of many of us, because it is about protecting the safety of everyone, including our children and young people. This evening I want to talk about why this issue matters and what the Online Safety Act will do about it. First, I would like to share my deepest sympathies with family and friends of Joe Nihill—a 23-year-old man who ended his life after finding suicide-related content online. Unfortunately, stories such as Joe’s are not uncommon—we have heard about Tom, a 22-year-old young man, who also died from suicide. As part of our work in online safety we speak to groups that have campaigned for years for a safer internet, often led by bereaved families. I thank Joe’s mother Catherine, his sister-in-law Melanie and all the bereaved families for their tireless work. We continue to listen to their expertise in this conversation. People who are thinking about ending their lives or hurting themselves might turn to the internet as a place of refuge. All too often, what they find instead is content encouraging them not to seek help. That deluge of content has a real-world impact. Suicide-related internet use is a factor in around a quarter of deaths by suicide among people aged 10 to 19 in the UK—at least 43 deaths a year. Lots of research in this area focuses on children, but it is important to recognise that suicide-related internet use can be a factor in suicide in all age groups. These harms are real, and tackling them must be a collective effort. On the hon. Member’s first point, we welcome efforts by all companies, including internet service providers, to tackle illegal content so that no more lives are tragically lost to suicide. Online safety forms a key pillar of the Government’s suicide prevention strategy. However, we are clear that the principal responsibility sits squarely with those who post such hateful content, and the site where it is allowed to fester—sites that, until now, have not been made to face the consequences. The Online Safety Act has been a long time coming. A decade of delay has come at a tragic human cost, but change is on its way. On Monday, Ofcom published its draft illegal harms codes under the Online Safety Act, which are a step change. On the hon. Member’s second point, I can confirm that from next spring, for the first time, social media platforms and search engines will have to look proactively for and take down illegal content. These codes will apply to sites big and small. If services do not comply they could be hit by massive fines, or Ofcom could, with the agreement of the courts, use business disruption measures —court orders that mean that third parties have to withdraw their services or restrict or block access to non-compliant services in the UK. We have made intentionally encouraging or assisting suicide a priority offence under the Act. That means that all providers, no matter their size, will have to show that they are taking steps to stop their sites being used for such content. The strongest protection in the Act’s frameworks are for children, so on the hon. Member’s third point, I assure him that under the draft child safety codes, any site that allows content that promotes self-harm, eating disorders or suicide will now have to use highly effective age limits to stop children from accessing such content. Some sites will face extra duties. We have laid the draft regulations setting out the threshold conditions for category 1, 2A and 2B services under the Act. Category 1 sites are those that have the ability to spread content easily, quickly and widely. They will have to take down content if it goes against their terms of services, such as posts that could encourage self-harm or eating disorders. They will also have to give adult users the tools to make it less likely they will see content that they do not want to see, or will alert them to the nature of potentially harmful content. A suicide forum will be unlikely to have terms of services that restrict legal suicide content, and users of these sites are unlikely to want to use tools that make it less likely they will see such content. However, that absolutely does not mean that such forums—what people call “small but risky” sites—can go unnoticed.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Online Safety: Children and Young People · Hansard source

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  I am short of time, so I will have to proceed. For example, Ofcom recently announced plans to launch a further consultation on the illegal content duties once the first iteration of those duties is set out in spring next year. That iterative approach enables Ofcom to prioritise getting its initial codes in place as soon as possible while it builds on the foundations set out in that first set of codes. My hon. Friends the Members for Slough (Mr Dhesi) and for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) and the hon. Member for Aberdeen North raised the issue of violence against girls and women. In line with our safer streets mission, platforms will have new duties to create safer spaces for women and girls. It is a priority of the Online Safety Act for platforms proactively to tackle the most harmful illegal content, which includes offences such as harassment, sexual exploitation, extreme pornography, internet image abuse, stalking and controlling or coercive behaviour, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls. All services in scope of the Act need to understand the risks facing women and girls from illegal content online and take action to mitigate that. My hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) set out powerfully the issues around child sexual exploitation and abuse. Child sexual abuse is a vile crime that inflicts long-lasting trauma on victims. UK law is crystal clear: the creation, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse images is illegal. The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are against child sexual abuse and exploitation. Ofcom will have strong powers to direct online platforms and messaging and search services to combat that kind of abuse. It will be able to require platforms to use accredited, proactive technology to tackle CSEA and will have powers to hold senior managers criminally liable if they fail to protect children. I am running short of time, so I shall make some final remarks. While we remain resolute in our commitment to implementing the Online Safety Act as quickly and effectively as possible, we recognise the importance of these ongoing conversations, and I am grateful to everyone who has contributed to today’s debate. I am grateful to the brave parents who continue to fight for protections for children online and shine a light on these important issues. The Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer), asked a host of questions. I will respond to him in writing, because I do not have time to do so today, and I will place a copy in the Library.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Draft Communications Act 2003 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2024 · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Minister and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for their comments. The Government are committed to the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act. It is crucial that we remove any barriers to that, as we are doing with this draft order, which will ensure that Ofcom can co-operate and share online safety information with the Secretary of State where it is appropriate to do so, as intended during the Act’s development. The shadow Minister asked about proportionality. There are safeguards around the sharing of business information. Section 393 of the 2003 Act prohibits the disclosure of information about a particular business that was obtained using powers under certain Acts listed in the section, except with consent or where an exception applies. Ofcom is therefore restricted in disclosing information obtained using its powers to require information and other powers under the Online Safety Act, except where an exception applies. Ofcom is an experienced regulator and understands the importance of maintaining confidentiality. It is also a criminal offence for a person to disclose information in contravention of section 393 of the 2003 Act, including to the Secretary of State. The Liberal Democrat spokesperson asked about the Online Safety Act’s implementation. On 17 October, Ofcom published an updated road map setting out its implementation plans. Firms will need to start risk-assessing for illegal content by the end of the year, once Ofcom finalises its guidance. The illegal content duties will be fully in effect by spring 2025, and Ofcom can start enforcing against the regime. Firms will have to start risk-assessing for harms to children in spring 2025, and the child safety regime will be fully in effect by summer 2025. I hope that the Committee agrees with me about the importance of implementing the Online Safety Act and ensuring that it can become fully operational as quickly as possible. I commend the draft order to the Committee. Question put and agreed to.