Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Online Protection: Covid-19

Monday 22 June 2020 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department has worked with the National Crime Agency, UK Safer Internet Centre, Internet Matters, and the NSPCC to protect children and young people online during the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • Henry Smith highlighted the importance of children's mental health and social wellbeing through online connections, emphasizing the benefits of staying in touch with family and friends.
  • Tulip Siddiq raised concerns about increased online risks to children during the pandemic and urged for the timely introduction of a duty of care regulator for social media companies.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Henry Smith Con Epsom and Ewell
Culture, Media & Sport Children & Families
Context

The question discusses steps taken by the Department for Education to ensure child safety while they use the internet more frequently due to lockdown measures.

Question

What steps has his Department taken to protect children and young people online during the covid-19 outbreak?

Answer from Vicky Ford (The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families)

At this deeply challenging time, it has been so important that people, especially children, have been able to stay in touch online, but they should be able to do so safely. We have worked with the National Crime Agency, the UK Safer Internet Centre, Internet Matters, the NSPCC and many other experts to provide detailed guidance and support to schools and colleges on keeping children safe online, as well as advice and high-quality resources for parents and carers.

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Q2 Henry Smith Con Epsom and Ewell
Mental Health Children & Families
Context

The question addresses the balance between the benefits of being online for children's mental health and social wellbeing, and the risks associated with internet usage.

Question

Does my hon. Friend agree that although we must be cognisant of the risks on the internet to children and young people it is very important for their mental health and social wellbeing that they are encouraged to connect via various internet channels with family, friends and others who are part of their support network?

Answer from Vicky Ford (The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Being online has had great benefits for children, giving them access to educational resources and entertainment but also enabling them to stay in touch with family and friends, which is vital to their wellbeing. Social media companies have a role in keeping children safe. This Government are committed to creating a statutory duty of care on companies to protect their users, especially children. But they should not wait for us to legislate—they should act.

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Q3 Tulip Siddiq Lab Hollingbourne
Culture, Media & Sport Children & Families
Context

The question highlights the delay in introducing a statutory duty of care on social media companies to protect children, as outlined in the Government's White Paper on online harms.

Question

Charities such as the NSPCC and Barnardo's have highlighted how children are at increased risk of online harm during this pandemic. It has been over a year since the Government's White Paper on online harms which set out the need for a duty of care regulator. Every day that this is delayed more and more children are put at risk. So I ask the Government now: At what point will they stand up to the tech companies, put vulnerable children first and bring forward a Bill on this?

Answer from Vicky Ford (The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families)

I thank the NSPCC and Barnardo's for the work that they are doing with the Government to help keep children safe online but also in the home and outside the home. We are committed to introducing a duty of care on social media companies. We published the initial response to the consultation in February and a full response will be published later this year. We are working with the sector on a detailed code of conduct. But the first thing we must do to keep children safe is to get them back in school, and I would like the hon. Lady to support us in doing that.

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