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Online Safety
08 September 2026
Lead MP
Lisa Nandy
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
EconomyScience & Technology
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
Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan, made a statement on the next steps the Government will take to protect children online. She emphasised the Government's ambition to be a world leader in creating an online environment that is safe, enabling, and empowering for children. Since June, the Government has worked with Apple and Google to explore new ways of preventing child sexual abuse and strengthening protections for children online. The Government has received significant commitments from both companies to develop meaningful changes to make it harder for children to share nude imagery. However, despite these advancements, the statement recognised that they do not meet the scale of the crisis. The Minister highlighted that 91% of child sexual abuse images are self-generated, and approximately 9,000 child sexual abuse offences involve an online element annually. The Government plans to introduce primary legislation to require major tech platforms to build in device-level protections for children and to prevent children from accessing or sharing nudity on apps. The statement concluded by reiterating the Government's commitment to take decisive action, ensuring that tech companies lead on implementation and progress translates into real protections for children.
Rebecca Paul
Con
Question
The shadow Secretary of State inquired about the Secretary of State's plans for introducing primary legislation, asking for a precise timetable and criteria for reassessing the necessity of legislation if progress is made by tech companies. She also raised concerns about the application of protections to existing devices and the scale of the problem for older devices.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledged the need for detail and provided that the Government recognises the urgency of the issue and will work with colleagues to introduce legislation as soon as possible. She stated that the Government will reassess whether legislation is necessary if companies make sufficient progress. The Minister did not provide a specific timetable but emphasised the urgency of the matter.
Salford and Eccles
Question
The MP welcomed the statement's focus on device-level protections and questioned the lack of a clear timetable for legislation. She also raised concerns about the inclusion of older devices and the definition of shaping technology for good. She sought clarification on the timeline for social media restrictions for under-16s and the criteria for assessing progress by technology companies.
Minister reply
The Secretary of State thanked the MP for her engagement and confirmed the intention to introduce legislation without delay. She stated that the lack of a firm timetable is due to the pioneering nature of these measures. She committed to exploring the possibility of extending protections to older devices and reiterated the Government's commitment to keeping children safe online. She also confirmed the timeline for social media restrictions for under-16s, with regulations expected by the end of 2023 and the ban coming into effect in early 2027.
Liz Kendall
Lab
Leicester West
Question
The MP welcomed the announcement and asked for more detail on the timetable for measures on AI chatbots, overnight curfews, and bans on doomscrolling for older children.
Minister reply
The Secretary of State thanked the MP for her support and committed to providing a firm timetable for these measures. She confirmed that there will be no delay in taking action and that significant progress is expected by the end of the year.
Anna Sabine
Liberal Democrats
Frome and East Somerset
Question
The MP welcomed the announcement but urged the Minister to reassure that legislation will be developed regardless of the action taken by companies. She also raised concerns about privacy and asked for confirmation that technology will preserve privacy.
Minister reply
The Minister confirmed that legislation will be developed regardless of the action taken by companies. She emphasised that privacy concerns will not be sidelined and that the Government is exploring potential solutions to address the challenges posed by end-to-end encryption.
Jess Phillips
Lab
Birmingham, Yardley
Question
The MP stressed the importance of addressing the 'take' element to prevent children from taking images in the first place. She also called for the Government to work with international partners to ensure global implementation of such measures.
Minister reply
The Minister thanked the MP for her support and acknowledged the importance of addressing the 'take' element. She committed to working with Governments and partners worldwide to keep children safe.
Gosport
Question
The MP asked about the enforcement of the policy and the sanctions available to address non-compliance. She questioned the sluggish implementation of the Online Safety Act by Ofcom.
Minister reply
The Minister thanked the MP for her work on this issue. She committed to pressing companies for urgent action and developing the details of enforcement measures.
Question
The MP called for assurance that the Government will continue to press companies to act with urgency and moral leadership while the legislation is being developed.
Minister reply
The Minister committed to bringing back the sense of moral responsibility and working with companies to address the issue more quickly.
Jeremy Wright
Con
Kenilworth and Southam
Question
The MP welcomed the intent and urged a discussion on the compatibility of individual measures with the ongoing responsibilities of companies under the Online Safety Act.
Minister reply
The Minister agreed to meet the MP to discuss the compatibility of measures in more detail.
Tahir Ali
Lab
Poplar
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 immediate actions can Ofcom take to address this issue?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is right. The Government are looking at chatbots and strengthening the law to ensure better protection of children from various forms of exposure.
Vikki Slade
Con
Halifax
Question
What more can the Government do to hold tech companies accountable and take down posts that put the safety of children and adults at risk through doxxing?
Minister reply
The Government are concerned about the issue and are discussing it with tech companies, including the campaign by shop workers and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The Government look forward to working with the House to address this issue further.
Chris Kane
Lab
Bolton West
Question
What ongoing conversations will the Secretary of State have with tech companies to tackle the issue of online safety while the primary legislative clock is ticking?
Minister reply
The Secretary of State pays tribute to the constituents and advocates for faster progress. Tech companies will be expected to act with the same speed of innovation for safety as they do for profit.
Ashley Fox
Con
Conwy
Question
How will the Secretary of State ensure that children using devices with older operating systems are fully protected?
Minister reply
The Department is discussing this issue and exploring solutions. The protections being brought in around the sharing of nude images will take effect immediately, even on older devices.
Alex McIntyre
Con
North East Hertfordshire
Question
Will the Secretary of State reassure the House that she will not accept any argument that it is too expensive or difficult to stop children from taking nude images and sending them to people?
Minister reply
There is no excuse. The Government will work with the NSPCC and Childline to address the issue seriously and continue to innovate and take necessary steps as technology develops.
Kirsty Blackman
SNP
Aberdeen North
Question
Will the Secretary of State consider banning children’s accounts from livestreaming, regardless of whether it involves nude images, to prevent blackmail or abuse?
Minister reply
The Secretary of State will ask officials to come back on this issue and have a proper conversation with the hon. Lady about it.
Tom Collins
Con
West Suffolk
Question
Will the Secretary of State meet to discuss a broader approach, including a product safety approach, to deal with digitally enabled child sexual exploitation?
Minister reply
The Secretary of State would be very happy to meet her hon. Friend to discuss the issue from every angle, including traditional law enforcement.
Julian Lewis
Con
New Forest East
Question
How does the highly efficient age assurance system work and what would prevent a parent from allowing a child to use their phone under their identity?
Minister reply
The Government are not envisaging imposing penalties on parents but will keep revisiting the safeguards to ensure they are robust. The system requires someone to have a form of ID to prove their age, unlike the current systems that only require ticking a box or entering a birth date.
Andrew Lewin
Lab
Rotherham
Question
I commend the Minister for her decision to leave Elon Musk’s X platform and ask her to make the case to her Cabinet colleagues that there are many ways to reach constituents through social media without adhering to Elon Musk’s rules.
Minister reply
The Minister believes that Members of the House should be free to decide how and where they communicate and emphasises that she does not want to encourage others to join a platform she views as harmful.
Yeovil
Question
The Minister is asked to provide clarity on the definition and enforcement of a ban on sexualised AI chatbots for under-18s and whether legislation can be broadened to cover this issue.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledges the complexity of the issue and the need for urgent resolution. She is working with campaigners and Members to strengthen the approach to address limitations in existing protections and the recent case of an AI system escaping its sandbox.
Emily Darlington
Lab
Bristol North West
Question
The Minister is urged to call for technology companies to turn on safety software in the next update and to introduce legislation if they do not act quickly.
Minister reply
The Minister promises to move as fast as possible to resolve the issue, supporting technology companies to act now and committing to introducing legislation if necessary.
Carla Lockhart
Con
Erewash
Question
The Minister is asked whether today’s announcement covers in-game adverts and whether she will commit to looking at this issue.
Minister reply
The Minister commits to looking at the issue and is concerned about the appearance of sexualised images in children’s games, promising to take appropriate action.
Jonathan Brash
Con
Hartlepool
Question
The Minister is asked if it would be better to assume technology companies’ moral bankruptcy and legislate immediately.
Minister reply
The Minister supports legislation and stresses the need to treat the online world as not distinct from the offline world, with the same level of expectations for protection.
Lisa Smart
Lab
Wansbeck
Question
The Minister is asked about her work with the Department for Education to support schools and families in preventing children from becoming victims or perpetrators of online abuse.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledges the importance of addressing the issue and the need to support schools and families to help protect children, with plans to put extra effort into the national youth strategy.
Sarah Smith
Lab
Hyndburn
Question
The Minister is asked to meet to discuss the importance of protecting victims of suspicious circumstances from tragedy trolling.
Minister reply
The Minister is happy to offer a meeting with the relevant officials and to discuss the issue personally, acknowledging the importance of tackling misinformation and disinformation.
Ayoub Khan
Lab
Preston
Question
The Minister is asked what steps the Government can take to ensure social media providers follow their complaints processes.
Minister reply
The Minister is happy to pick up the issue with the social media companies directly, highlighting the need for robust complaints procedures.
Luke Myer
Lab
Bolton West
Question
The Minister is asked what more the Government will do to address the use of social media disinformation by hostile states.
Minister reply
The Minister outlines various approaches being taken, including developing gov.uk, producing the first local news strategy, and the upcoming BBC charter review to address misinformation and disinformation.
Iqbal Mohamed
Lab
Brent Central
Question
The Minister is urged to look at hardware-level protection controls and whether the Government will pursue robust enforcement against companies like Meta.
Minister reply
The Minister emphasises the importance of enforcement and takes the issue very seriously, acknowledging the need for robust enforcement of any legislation introduced.
Luke Charters
Lab
West Bromwich West
Question
As the youngest parent in the House, I welcome the Secretary of State’s leadership and that of our Prime Minister. Will she look at AI-enabled smart glasses and the content from them being put online, as well as loopholes in VPN usage, particularly with app-based browsers?
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
North East Bedfordshire
Question
Parents in Bracknell Forest feel anxious about what their young people might be exposed to online and their feeling of powerlessness. The statement makes it clear that the Government believes the power to act lies 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
The focus is 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 her Department and others are doing with tech companies to identify and disrupt adults who are targeting children and pressuring them to put images online?
Minister reply
I saw my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley nodding vigorously at that point. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North 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
Lab
Glasgow North East
Question
The statement is long overdue and builds on great work by 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. 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
Great Yarmouth
Question
The Secretary of State’s Government’s world-leading action is commended. 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 Midlands
Question
The statement is a tremendous step. We can expect the tech companies 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
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. 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
Con
South Dorset
Question
Democracies face a choice between allowing the online world to be a wild west or stepping in. 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. Would the Secretary of State 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 Secretary of State's focus on device-level protections and the Government's commitment to prevent children from taking or sharing nude images on their devices. However, she sought more detail on the Secretary of State's plans, including a timetable for introducing primary legislation and criteria for reassessing whether legislation is necessary. She also inquired about the application of these protections to existing devices and the assessment of the problem for older devices. Additionally, she asked for clarity on the Government's broader role in shaping technology for good and the status of restrictions on social media for under-16s, with a commitment to early 2027 implementation.
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