← Back to House of Commons Debates
Online Safety
08 September 2026
Lead MP
Lisa Nandy
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
EconomyScience & Technology
Other Contributors: 38
At a Glance
Lisa Nandy raised concerns about online safety in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
Lisa Nandy announced the next steps the UK government will take to protect children online, including introducing primary legislation to require major tech platforms to build in device-level protections for children and preventing children from accessing or sharing nudity in apps. This builds on previous actions such as the Government's challenge to industry to strengthen device-level protections for children, Apple and Google's significant commitments, and the roll-out of operating system-level age assurance and tighter safety features. Nandy emphasised the urgency of the issue and the need for tech companies to implement protections quickly, stating that the UK aims to be the first country to take these measures and a world leader in online safety.
Rebecca Paul
Lab
Derby North
Question
Rebecca Paul asked for more detail on the Secretary of State's plans, including the timetable for introducing legislation and the criteria for reassessing the necessity of legislation.
Minister reply
Lisa Nandy did not provide a specific timetable but committed to introducing the legislation as soon as possible, while working with colleagues across the House to ensure the legislation is robust. She also mentioned that the Government may reassess the necessity of legislation if companies make sufficient progress in the meantime.
Rebecca Paul
Lab
Derby North
Question
Rebecca Paul inquired about the devices to be covered by the planned protections, asking if these measures would apply to new phones and tablets or also to existing devices through software updates.
Minister reply
Lisa Nandy did not provide a specific answer but mentioned that the Government aims to cover all devices where technically possible, ensuring that protections are not limited to new devices only.
Rebecca Paul
Lab
Derby North
Question
Rebecca Paul sought clarity on the Government's broader role in shaping technology for good and questioned the scope of this proposition.
Minister reply
Lisa Nandy did not provide a detailed response but reiterated the Government's commitment to shaping technology for good, ensuring that it is not only safe but also enabling and empowering.
Rebecca Paul
Lab
Derby North
Question
Rebecca Paul asked for confirmation on the timeline for restrictions on social media for under-16s and the readiness of age assurance and enforcement arrangements.
Minister reply
Lisa Nandy did not provide a specific answer but reiterated the Government's commitment to protecting children online and working towards stronger online protections.
Rebecca Paul
Lab
Bristol East
Question
The MP welcomed the Minister's statement and raised several questions, including the need for more detailed plans on device-level protections, a clear timeline for legislation, the criteria for defining 'sufficient progress', the scope of devices to which the protections would apply, and the meaning of 'shaping technology for good'. She also questioned the implementation timeline and enforcement arrangements for the social media ban for under-16s.
Minister reply
The Minister thanked the MP for her questions and assured her that legislation would be introduced without delay, despite not having a firm timetable yet due to the pioneering nature of the work. She clarified that legislation would likely proceed if companies do not move quickly to meet their obligations. The Minister also confirmed that protections would apply to phones and tablets, with exploration into other forms of technology. She defined 'shaping technology for good' as ensuring access to trusted information and empowering users. The Minister reaffirmed the commitment to the social media ban for under-16s, with regulations to be laid by the end of 2023 and the ban to take effect in spring 2027.
Liz Kendall
Lab
Leicester West
Question
The MP welcomed the announcement and inquired about the timetable for other proposals such as AI chatbots, overnight curfews, and bans on doomscrolling for older children. She expressed a desire for a comprehensive package of measures to make the world safer and better for children online.
Minister reply
The Minister thanked the MP for her support and confirmed that while a firm timetable is not yet available, significant progress is expected by the end of the year. The Minister committed to providing a detailed timeline for these measures and emphasised the intention to move quickly without delay.
Anna Sabine
Lib Dem
Frome and East Somerset
Question
The Lib Dems welcome the announcement of primary legislation for children’s online protection, but seek reassurance that legislation will progress regardless of tech companies' actions. The member also raised privacy concerns and the need for effective measures without compromising privacy.
Minister reply
The minister assured that legislation will progress regardless of the actions taken by tech companies. Privacy concerns will be addressed, and discussions with Opposition parties and colleagues will ensure a balanced approach. Cross-party discussions will explore potential solutions for end-to-end encryption services.
Jess Phillips
Lab
Birmingham, Yardley
Question
The member emphasised the importance of addressing the 'take' element to prevent children from taking images in the first place, thus stopping abuse and grooming. She also urged the minister to work with international partners to ensure that the UK is not standing alone in this issue.
Minister reply
The minister thanked the member for her support and acknowledged the importance of addressing the 'take' element. She committed to working with international partners and reaching out to like-minded Governments to ensure global cooperation in keeping children safe online.
Gosport
Question
The member questioned how compliance with the policy will be monitored and what sanctions will be available for non-compliance, given Ofcom's sluggish implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.
Minister reply
The minister assured the member that the Government will continue the enforcement work initiated by her predecessor. She will look at making and selling devices and apps that do not have technology enabled to prevent children from taking and sharing nude images, closing every loophole to ensure children are as safe as possible.
Question
The member requested assurance that the Government will continue to press companies to act with urgency and moral leadership while legislation is being developed.
Minister reply
The minister acknowledged the need for urgency and moral leadership from companies and committed to bringing back the sense that we are all responsible for keeping children safe. She emphasised that if legislation is necessary, the Government will not hesitate to introduce it.
Jeremy Wright
Con
Kenilworth and Southam
Question
The member welcomed the intent but expressed concern about the compatibility of individual measures with the responsibilities of companies under the Online Safety Act and asked if a meeting could be arranged to discuss this in more detail.
Minister reply
The minister agreed to meet with the member to discuss the compatibility of measures with the Online Safety Act in more detail.
Question
Children are being exposed daily to horrific, violent content online. Ofcom’s research shows nearly a quarter of 11 to 17-year-olds have seen violent content in four weeks, and nearly three quarters have seen harmful content. What more can be done to protect children from violent content online?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is right. We are also looking at the issue of chatbots and strengthening the law to ensure that we protect children better from all forms of exposure.
Question
In response to disturbing posts on Meta and X that reveal identities of brave rescuers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, what more can the Government do to hold tech companies to account and take down posts that put the safety of children and adults at risk through doxxing?
Minister reply
I have had an initial discussion about this with some of the tech companies. The Government are concerned about the issue, and I look forward to working with the hon. Lady to see what more we can do.
Question
May I place on record my heartfelt appreciation of the dignified leadership that the parents and family of my constituent Murray Dowey have shown on this issue? Will the Secretary of State say more about the ongoing conversations that she will have with tech companies while the primary legislative clock is ticking?
Minister reply
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s constituents. We are trying to move quickly on this, and it ought not to require primary legislation. We want to see faster progress, and many tech companies will have noted the strength of feeling about their own responsibilities.
Question
Children are facing unacceptable levels of sexual harm online, and they need protection. Many children use older phones handed down by family members. How will the Secretary of State ensure that children using devices with older operating systems are fully protected?
Minister reply
We have been discussing that as a Department, and it is something that officials are currently exploring. We think there may be some solutions to this, but we are very keen to work with colleagues from across the House to address some of these issues.
Question
As a parent, I can understand the anxiety that Gloucester parents have about keeping their children safe online. Will the Secretary of State reassure the House that she will not accept any argument that it is too expensive or too difficult to stop children from being able to take nude images and send them to people?
Minister reply
I strongly support that; there is no excuse. My hon. Friend mentions the anxiety that many families feel. This particular form of abuse is happening in families’ homes. It is often happening in children’s bedrooms while their parents are in the house, but it is not known to them. There is something particularly frightening about that for many parents.
Question
I first raised the issue of self-generated images in Parliament more than four years ago. I have asked almost every single Culture, Media and Sport team about the issue of livestreaming. I am pleased to hear from the Secretary of State that action is being taken, and about the belt-and-braces approach that is coming in. I would like to see children’s accounts banned from livestreaming, regardless of whether it involves nude images, because so much of that can be held over children for the purposes of blackmail or abuse. Will she meet me to discuss that?
Minister reply
I thank the hon. Lady for being such a long-standing campaigner on this issue. I am really committed to looking at the issue seriously. I will go away after this statement and ask my officials to come back to me on it, and then I will reach out to her so that we can have a proper conversation about it.
Question
We have a massive crisis of digitally enabled child sexual exploitation in the UK. The UK is the second largest global consumer of livestreamed abuse material from the Philippines. The abuse extends beyond our borders. We will need a broader approach. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss a product safety approach?
Minister reply
I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend. We need to ensure that we do not let the individuals causing harm to children off the hook. The Home Secretary has been incredibly supportive of working hand in glove to ensure we deal with this from every angle.
Question
I welcome the statement. I would be grateful if the Secretary of State shared with the House a little bit about how the highly efficient age assurance system actually works. What would there be to prevent a parent choosing to allow a child to use their phone under their identity, and would there be a penalty for doing so?
Minister reply
We are not envisaging imposing penalties on parents. However, the right hon. Member is right that, as we are already anticipating, with any system we introduce there will be people who find ways to get around the safeguards we put in place. Companies are already rolling out highly effective age assurance, including through iOS 26. This requires someone to have a form of ID to prove their age.
Andrew Lewin
Lab
Rotherham
Question
I commend my right hon. Friend for her statement and her decision to leave Elon Musk’s X platform. Will she make the case to her colleagues that there are many ways we can reach our constituents by social media, but we do not have to play by Elon Musk’s rules?
Minister reply
This is a personal decision, and all Members of the House should be free to decide how and where they communicate, but for my own part, I did not want to encourage more people to a site that I think has become more of a force for harm than for good.
Ynys Mon
Question
The Secretary of State announced measures for AI companions that can expose children to inappropriate sexual content. Can she provide clarity on defining and enforcing these measures?
Minister reply
This is a live issue and it is very much at the front of my mind. We are looking at strengthening our approach in this area because at the moment there is a great big gap where there is no liability for the output from those AI systems. We urgently need to resolve that major gap in our child safety protection system.
Emily Darlington
Lab
Croydon Central
Question
Will the Secretary of State join me in calling for technology companies to turn on the software that exists for better online safety in the next update and to introduce legislation within the year if they do not?
Minister reply
We are moving as fast as possible, and I give my hon. Friend my word that we will not unduly delay. Complexity cannot be an excuse for inaction when children are being harmed now. I support what she has just said about the obligations on technology companies. Far more could be done right now, and we would like to see them do it.
Carla Lockhart
Con
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
Question
Will today’s announcement cover in-game adverts, or is that a loophole that the new Secretary of State can commit to looking at?
Minister reply
I certainly commit to looking at that issue. I am concerned by what the hon. Lady said. I will take that away and make sure that we take the appropriate action to protect children from those sorts of images.
Jonathan Brash
Con
Hartlepool
Question
Would it be better just to assume these companies’ moral bankruptcy and not ask in future, and just to legislate straightaway?
Minister reply
I support what my hon. Friend says. We need to stop thinking about the online world as somehow distinct from the offline world. I find it astonishing that we do not have the same level of expectation for the online world.
Lisa Smart
Lab
West Bromwich West
Question
Can the Secretary of State say more about what she is doing with colleagues in the Department for Education and elsewhere to support schools and families as they work to prevent children from becoming victims or perpetrators of child sexual abuse?
Minister reply
The hon. Lady raises an important point about some of the apps that exist. I commend my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West for taking such quick and decisive action in this place on Grok. We need to be much better at supporting schools, parents and wider families to help protect children.
Sarah Smith
Lab
Hyndburn
Question
Will the Secretary of State meet me to find out more about the importance of trying to protect victims who have lost people in suspicious circumstances, when that horror happens to them?
Minister reply
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend and her constituent for their campaign. I would be very happy to offer a meeting with the relevant officials and to discuss this issue personally with her.
Ayoub Khan
Lab
Walsall South
Question
What steps can the Government take to ensure that social media providers follow their complaints processes?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman gives an astonishing example. I am very happy to pick that up with the social media companies directly.
Luke Myer
Con
Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
Question
What more will the Government do to address the use of social media disinformation by hostile states to disrupt democracies and sow division?
Minister reply
We are coming at that from a number of angles. As well as the measures I have been outlining to colleagues today, we are looking at how we can develop gov.uk and produce the first ever local news strategy to support local news outlets.
Iqbal Mohamed
Lab
Dartford
Question
Will the Government pursue similar robust enforcement against companies like Meta, who recently agreed to pay $18 billion in a legal settlement in the US?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the issue of enforcement. As has already been mentioned, any legislation that we introduce is only as good as our ability to enforce it, so we take that extremely seriously.
Luke Charters
Lab
Hemsworth
Question
As the youngest parent in this place, I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s leadership and that of our Prime Minister. Will she look at AI-enabled smart glasses, which could be filming our children, and the content from them that is being put online? Will she also look at loopholes in VPN usage—in particular, with app-based browsers—as she looks to progress the measures?
Minister reply
I have already discussed issues around VPNs with officials; device-level controls are one part of the answer but not the whole answer, so my hon. Friend is right to raise the issue. I will take up the issue of smart glasses as well.
Peter Swallow
Con
Bracknell
Question
When I speak to parents in Bracknell Forest, they tell me of their anxiety about what their young people might be exposed to online and their feeling of powerlessness—they do not feel that they have the tools to do anything about it. Today’s statement makes it clear that this Government believe that the power to act lies squarely with the tech companies, and that they should get on and fix their platforms so that our young people can be safe.
Minister reply
I support my hon. Friend in saying that it is the responsibility of all of us to keep children safe, and we would like to see the tech companies do more—and more quickly. Today’s statement also shows that the Government can do things to improve people’s lives. We are not powerless; we were elected to do that, and we intend to fulfil that promise.
Amanda Martin
Lab
Portsmouth North
Question
I welcome the announcement from the Secretary of State, but the focus is too often on what young people are doing, rather than on the adults who are grooming and coercing them. Can the Secretary of State say more about the work that her Department and others are doing with tech companies to identify and disrupt adults who are targeting children and pressurising them to put images online?
Minister reply
I saw my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips) nodding vigorously at that point. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) is absolutely right, and I am working closely with the Home Secretary to ensure that we come at the issue from every angle and hold to account all who are responsible.
Kevin McKenna
SNP
Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Question
I strongly welcome the statement from the Secretary of State. It is long overdue and builds on great work by her predecessors. Unfortunately, we do not have full sovereign capability in developing our own tech in this country, and we are vulnerable to politics in other countries. Will the Secretary of State tell me what she is doing to work with people across Government to ensure that if there is pushback against these changes, particularly in the United States, and challenges from the tech companies, Britain will get what it wants—not what some people in certain other countries want?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend raises two linked and important points. First, we are the Government of the United Kingdom and are responsible to the people of this country. Although we have close friends and allies all over the world, we reserve the right to take our own view on technology. Particularly when it comes to keeping children safe, that is non-negotiable. Secondly, we have to be on the front foot in developing new forms of technology. I believe that tech, the online space and AI should be—and can be—a force for good in the world, but in order to help create that and be leaders in the field, we have to be on the front foot in developing forms of technology and having sovereign capability. I can reassure my hon. Friend on that point because I discussed it, this very morning, with the Business Secretary and the AI Minister.
Darren Paffey
Lab
Croydon North
Question
I thank and commend the Secretary of State for the Government’s world-leading action. Does she agree that at some point in the future, we are going to look back and wonder how we let the tech companies get away with hijacking our children’s attention and safety for so long? She talks about closing loopholes, but will she say more about what is happening across Government and with the regulators—as well as internationally—to ensure that those who produce the devices and what goes on them all play their part in keeping our children safe?
Minister reply
I think we have been living through a revolution in the way we interact with one another and with Government, compared with when I was growing up. I am going to sound incredibly old now, but I think I was 17 before I got my first email address, and Google was not a thing at that point—it was Ask Jeeves, if anyone remembers that. We have been living through this revolution for quite some time, and it is about time that Governments caught up. We have to ensure that we are on the front foot, helping to shape the society we want to have, not just allowing that to be relegated to the private sphere. My hon. Friend talks about the global consensus, and I think there is a global consensus forming on this. We are seeing more and more that states are prepared to step up and be on the front foot and taking action. We are working closely with our friends and allies around the world, trying to move in step so that this can be as effective as possible.
Ben Coleman
Lab
West Bromwich West
Question
This is a really tremendous statement—I welcome it, and congratulate and thank my right hon. Friend for it. We have touched on the tech companies. Sadly, we can expect them to push back, and they may get support on the other side of the Atlantic. I encourage my right hon. Friend to work closely with our friends in the European Union who have similar aims to protect their children to give ourselves as much clout and oomph in the negotiations ahead.
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As a rule, I think this Government have taken that approach; we want to have a much closer relationship with our closest friends and neighbours across Europe and to repair some of the needless damage that was done to that relationship under previous Governments. When it comes to tech and what happens online, it is absolutely essential that we work with other like-minded countries in order to move in step, so I can certainly reassure him on that point.
Harlow
Question
I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Unfortunately, young people and their parents in my constituency do not believe that the big tech companies are taking their responsibilities seriously. I speak to young people in schools across Harlow who are concerned that it is very easy to flout the age verification rules. In much the same way as it is a shop’s responsibility to ensure that no one under the age of 18 buys alcohol, can we make it very clear to the big tech companies that it is their responsibility to ensure that underage people cannot use their software and sites?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for that point. I think the views of his constituents in Harlow are probably mirrored in every constituency across the country. I want to be really clear about our message today to parents who have been struggling with this matter for so long: you are not on your own. We believe that we are as responsible for keeping their children safe as they are, and we are stepping up to take the necessary action, whether that is through support, advice and training for parents and children, or through the reforms and measures that I have outlined today—we are the first country in the world to do so, and I strongly suspect that we will not be the last.
Tom Hayes
Lab
Delyn
Question
Democracies face a choice between allowing the online world to be a wild west or stepping in, so I really welcome this Government’s decision to regulate the tech titans that have been putting profit before protection. I have families in my constituency who have been deeply affected by traumas online that have repeated what has been experienced in the real world, and they would really welcome the chance to meet the Secretary of State at the Department. Would she meet them with me so that they can share their experiences and help to shape the legislation as it goes forward?
Minister reply
Yes, of course; it would be a privilege to meet them. I have had the honour of getting to know some of these families—both bereaved families and families of survivors whose children have been harmed because of the lack of action in this space—and I gave them a commitment that I will do everything in my power to stop another family having to experience what they have gone through. I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend and his constituents.
Shadow Comment
Rebecca Paul
Shadow Comment
Rebecca Paul welcomed the statement's focus on device-level protections but questioned the execution details, including the timetable for introducing legislation, criteria for reassessing the necessity of legislation, the scope of devices to be covered, and the Government's broader role in shaping technology. She also sought confirmation on the timeline for restrictions on social media for under-16s and the readiness of age assurance and enforcement arrangements.
▸
Assessment & feedback
Summary accuracy
About House of Commons Debates
House of Commons debates take place in the main chamber of the House of Commons. These debates cover a wide range of topics including government policy, legislation, and current affairs. MPs from all parties can participate, question ministers, and hold the government accountable for its decisions.