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Online Safety
08 September 2026
Lead MP
Lisa Nandy
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
EconomyScience & TechnologyWomen & Equalities
Other Contributors: 35
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
The Government aims to be a world leader in shaping an online environment that is safe, enabling, and empowering for children. The Minister highlighted the publication of an action plan to tackle violence against women and girls, expressing gratitude to her colleagues for their efforts. Since June, Apple and Google have provided significant commitments to prevent children from sharing nude images on phones and tablets, but the Minister acknowledged that these measures do not meet the scale of the crisis. She cited statistics indicating that 91% of child sexual abuse images are self-generated, with around 9,000 child sexual abuse offences involving an online element each year. The Minister emphasised the need for government intervention to protect children from online harm. She announced that the Government will introduce primary legislation to require major tech platforms to build in device-level protections for children, with a view to introducing the legislation as soon as possible. Additionally, the Government will require apps used by children to prevent them from accessing or sharing nudity, with legislation to be explored. The Minister committed to giving tech companies the chance to lead on implementation but warned that progress must translate into real protections for children's safety.
Rebecca Paul
Con
Brent Central
Question
The shadow Secretary of State inquired about the timetable for introducing the legislation and the criteria for reassessing the necessity of legislation if sufficient progress is made by companies. She also asked about the applicability of the planned protections to older devices and the readiness of age assurance and enforcement arrangements for social media restrictions for under-16s.
Minister reply
The Minister responded by acknowledging the need for a clear timetable for introducing legislation and stated that the Government will assess whether companies have made sufficient progress to determine if legislation is still necessary. She committed to exploring legislation for apps used by children to prevent them from accessing or sharing nudity. The Minister did not provide specific details on the applicability of the planned protections to older devices but expressed a commitment to closing any potential gaps. She confirmed that the under-16s social media restrictions remain on course for early 17-18 months from now, with the necessary age assurance and enforcement arrangements being developed.
Salford and Eccles
Question
Thanked the Secretary of State for the statement and welcomed the focus on device-level protections, particularly preventing children from taking or sharing nude images. Raised concerns about the execution of these protections, seeking more detail on the Secretary of State’s plans, including the timeline for legislation and the criteria for sufficient progress by tech companies. Inquired about the application of protections to existing devices and the broader role of government in shaping technology. Asked about the status of social media restrictions for under-16s and the timeline for these measures.
Minister reply
The Secretary of State acknowledged the need for more detail and assured that legislation would be introduced as soon as possible. She stated that the lack of a firm timetable was due to the pioneering nature of the legislation but assured that progress would be made swiftly. She clarified that the aim was to apply protections to phones and tablets, with exploration into extending to other devices. She emphasised the Government's role in shaping technology for good and protecting children online. Reassured that the social media ban for under-16s would adhere to the timeline set earlier, with plans to go further than initially proposed.
Liz Kendall
Lab
Leicester West
Question
Welcomed the announcement of device-level protections and the commitment to the timetable for the social media ban. Asked for more information on the timetable for other proposals such as AI chatbots, overnight curfews, and bans on doomscrolling for older children.
Minister reply
The Secretary of State thanked Liz Kendall for her support and reiterated the commitment to the timetable. She acknowledged the importance of a comprehensive approach and promised to provide a more detailed timetable for the measures mentioned, aiming for significant progress by the end of the year and a robust package by the following year.
Anna Sabine
LD
Frome and East Somerset
Question
The Lib Dem MP welcomed the announcement but sought reassurance that legislation would proceed regardless of tech companies' actions. She raised concerns about privacy and end-to-end encryption services and called for cross-party discussions.
Minister reply
The minister confirmed that legislation would be developed regardless of companies' actions and that privacy concerns would be addressed. She welcomed cross-party discussions about end-to-end encryption and acknowledged the seriousness of the issue.
Jess Phillips
Lab
Birmingham, Yardley
Question
The Labour MP stressed the importance of addressing the 'take' element to stop children taking images in the first place. She called for international cooperation to ensure global market compliance.
Minister reply
The minister thanked the MP for her support and acknowledged the importance of addressing the 'take' element. She committed to working with other Governments to ensure global cooperation in protecting children.
Caroline Dinenage
Cons
Gosport
Question
The Conservative MP asked about the enforcement of the policy and the sanctions available for non-compliance.
Minister reply
The minister stated that enforcement would be a priority and that the Government would look at making and selling devices without technology enabled to prevent children from taking and sharing nude images. She committed to closing every loophole to keep children safe.
Question
The MP asked for assurance that the Government would continue to press companies to act with urgency while the legislation is being developed.
Minister reply
The minister committed to pressing companies to act with urgency and emphasised the importance of moral leadership in protecting children.
Jeremy Wright
Cons
Kenilworth and Southam
Question
The Conservative MP welcomed the intent but raised concerns about the compatibility of measures with the Online Safety Act. He invited the Minister to discuss the matter further.
Minister reply
The minister agreed to meet the MP 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 that nearly a quarter of 11 to 17-year-olds have seen violent content in just four weeks, and nearly three quarters have seen harmful content of some kind. What more can be done to protect children from this immediate issue?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is right. We are looking at the issue of chatbots and strengthening the law to ensure that we protect children better from all these different forms of exposure.
Question
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 this, as am I personally, and I look forward to working with the hon. Lady to see what more we can do.
Question
What ongoing conversations are taking place with tech companies to tackle the issue of child online safety quickly?
Minister reply
We are trying to come at this issue from lots of different angles to ensure we close loopholes one by one, and close as many as we can at the same time. We are currently discussing with tech companies and will move quickly on this issue.
Question
How will the Secretary of State ensure that children using devices with older operating systems are fully protected?
Minister reply
We are currently exploring solutions to this issue and are working with tech companies and colleagues from across the House to address some of these issues. Even if a child has an older device, the protections that we are bringing in around the sharing of nude images will take effect immediately.
Question
Will the Secretary of State not accept any argument that it is too expensive or too difficult to stop children being able to take nude images and send them to people?
Minister reply
I strongly support that; frankly, there is no excuse. This particular form of abuse is happening in families’ homes and it is particularly disturbing for many parents.
Question
Will the Secretary of State ban children’s accounts 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?
Minister reply
I thank the hon. Lady for being such a long-standing campaigner on this issue and 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
Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss a product safety approach for addressing digitally enabled child sexual exploitation?
Minister reply
I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend. We have talked a lot about the tech companies in relation to this, and it is right to do so because there are obligations that must be met, but there is also traditional law enforcement.
Question
How does the highly efficient age assurance system actually work and what would there be to prevent a parent choosing to allow a child to use their phone under their identity?
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. The new systems are requiring that a form of ID be shown, and one lesson we have learned from looking at what happened in Australia is that unless we do that, most children will find a way around.
Question
The MP commends the minister for her decision to leave the social media platform X, expressing concern about the platform's harmful content and urging the minister to advocate for alternative ways to communicate without adhering to Elon Musk's rules.
Minister reply
The minister acknowledges that the decision to leave the platform is personal but emphasises the importance of not encouraging others to use a platform that she believes has become more harmful than beneficial.
Question
The MP welcomes the Secretary of State's announcements and seeks clarity on the Government's plans to define and enforce a ban on sexualised AI chatbots for under-18s, and whether legislation may be broadened to cover this issue.
Minister reply
The minister confirms that the issue is being addressed, acknowledging the complexities but emphasising the need to strengthen the approach to ensure there is no liability for the output from AI systems that cause harm.
Question
The MP urges the Government to introduce legislation within the year if tech companies do not act quickly to protect children from harmful online content.
Minister reply
The minister supports the urgency of the matter and commits to moving as fast as possible without delay, while acknowledging the need to address complexities without letting them hinder action.
Question
The MP raises concerns about highly sexualised images appearing in children’s games online and asks if today’s announcement will cover in-game adverts.
Minister reply
The minister commits to looking at the issue of in-game adverts and ensuring that appropriate action is taken to protect children from such images.
Question
The MP questions the moral responsibility of tech companies and suggests that legislation should be introduced without further asking the companies.
Minister reply
The minister agrees and emphasises the need to stop treating the online world as distinct from the offline world and to have the same level of expectation for online safety protections.
Question
The MP highlights the issue of child abuse perpetrators who are also children and asks about measures to support schools and families in preventing children from becoming victims or perpetrators.
Minister reply
The minister recognises the importance of addressing apps that can harm children and commits to supporting schools, parents, and families to help protect children from online dangers.
Question
The MP welcomes the work done to protect children's online safety and proposes a meeting to discuss the importance of protecting victims from tragedy trolling.
Minister reply
The minister agrees to meet and discusses the importance of tackling misinformation and disinformation, particularly for young people who consume media differently from older generations.
Question
The MP raises concerns about social media apps' robust complaints procedures and provides an example of a constituent facing serious harassment.
Minister reply
The minister expresses willingness to address the issue directly with social media companies.
Question
The MP highlights the use of social media disinformation by hostile states and asks what more the Government will do to address this.
Minister reply
The minister outlines measures including developing gov.uk, producing a local news strategy, and the upcoming BBC charter review to tackle misinformation and disinformation.
Question
The MP urges the Secretary of State to look into hardware-level protection for mobile devices and asks if the Government will pursue robust enforcement against companies like Meta.
Minister reply
The minister agrees on the importance of enforcement, acknowledging that any legislation's effectiveness relies on the ability to enforce it.
Luke Charters
Lab
Wolverhampton South West
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
Con
High Peak
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
Luton North
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
Darlington
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
The shadow Secretary of State welcomed the Government's focus on device-level protections and acknowledged the seriousness of the child safety issue. She expressed the need for more detail on the Government's plans, including a clear timetable for introducing the legislation and criteria for reassessing whether legislation is necessary. She also raised concerns about the applicability of the planned protections to older devices and the scale of the problem if older devices cannot support these measures. The shadow Secretary of State questioned the Government's commitment to device-level protection and called for clarity on the Government's broader role in shaping technology for good. She also inquired about the status of restrictions on social media for under-16s and the readiness of age assurance and enforcement arrangements.
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