Online Safety Children 2024-11-25
2024-11-25
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Concern over the proliferation of child abuse online and Facebook's decision to allow encrypted sharing of images, making it a potential safe haven for paedophiles.
What steps her Department is taking to help keep children safe online. I greatly welcome the action that the Government are taking, but the fight against child sex abuse online is only as strong as its weakest link, and Facebook's decision to allow the encrypted sharing of images makes it a very weak link indeed. Does the Minister share my anger that Facebook appears to be turning a blind eye while its platform becomes a safe haven for paedophiles?
My hon. Friend raises an extremely serious issue. I assure him that we very much share his concerns. The Home Secretary has met representatives from Meta and our officials are in regular contact. What we say in all those discussions is very simple. For years, Meta has been an industry leader when it comes to preventing and detecting child sex abuse online, and what we all want to see is it continuing to play that positive role and not—as my hon. Friend fears—going in the opposite direction.
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Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not address whether Facebook's decision was being directly challenged or if actions were taken against them.
We Share Your Concerns
Industry Leader
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
A constituent's son committed suicide after exposure to an online suicide forum, and 87 others have also been linked to this site. Under the Online Safety Act, sites like these should be regulated under category 1 but are not due to advice from Ofcom.
Under the Online Safety Act, the Technology Secretary has the powers to include such small but very dangerous sites under category 1—the most heavily regulated category—but Ofcom has advised him against doing so. Will the Minister press her colleagues in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to include these exceptionally dangerous sites in category 1?
I pay tribute to the hon. Member's constituent. It is unimaginable for any parent to have to go through something like that. We at the Home Office are working incredibly closely with our DSIT colleagues as the Online Safety Act comes into force to ensure that it is as strong and robust as it can be. We are having those conversations daily.
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Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not commit to pressing her colleagues at DSIT to include dangerous sites in category 1.
Working Closely
Having Conversations
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
A constituent's son committed suicide after exposure to an online suicide forum, and 87 others have also been linked to this site. Under the Online Safety Act, sites like these should be regulated under category 1 but are not due to advice from Ofcom.
My constituent lost his son to suicide following exposure to an online suicide forum. He is sadly one of 88 known Britons, the youngest of whom was just 17, whose deaths have been linked to this one site. Under the Online Safety Act, the Technology Secretary has the powers to include such small but very dangerous sites under category 1—the most heavily regulated category—but Ofcom has advised him against doing so. Will the Minister press her colleagues in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to include these exceptionally dangerous sites in category 1?
I pay tribute to the hon. Member's constituent. It is unimaginable for any parent to have to go through something like that. We at the Home Office are working incredibly closely with our DSIT colleagues as the Online Safety Act comes into force to ensure that it is as strong and robust as it can be. We are having those conversations daily.
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Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not commit to pressing her colleagues at DSIT to include dangerous sites in category 1.
Working Closely
Having Conversations
Response accuracy