Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Technology Platforms: Transparency and Accountability

Thursday 20 October 2022 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government are taking steps to improve transparency and accountability of technology platforms through the Online Safety Bill.
  • The Department is considering how the Online Safety Bill can provide greater protection for free speech.
  • Concerns have been raised about the behavior of PayPal in removing accounts without warning or explanation.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 John Whittingdale Con Maldon
Science & Technology Standards & Ethics
Context

The question arises from the need to address issues related to transparency and accountability in digital marketplaces, which are critical for protecting users' rights and ensuring fair competition.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to increase the transparency and accountability of technology platforms.

Answer from Damian Collins

The Government are driving forward a digital regulatory approach that unlocks growth and boosts trust. As part of that, we are taking steps to improve transparency and accountability, including through the Online Safety Bill; data protection legislation that maintains rules for responsible usage; and digital markets legislation, which will promote competition in digital markets.

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Q2 John Whittingdale Con Maldon
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

Concerns have been raised about the recent actions of PayPal in removing certain accounts without warning or explanation, affecting campaigning and journalistic organisations. This raises issues regarding the need to protect free speech through regulatory measures.

Question

Does my hon. Friend share my concern at the recent behaviour of PayPal in arbitrarily removing certain accounts of campaigning and journalistic organisations without any warning or explanation? Will he consider how the Online Safety Bill can give greater protection for free speech by increasing the accountability of PayPal, Facebook and the other giant tech platforms?

Answer from Damian Collins

Absolutely. I agree with my right hon. Friend: it is really important that big tech platforms are transparent and accountable to their users in their terms of service for how they trade. That is important in the principle of how the Online Safety Bill works, both in protecting freedom of speech and in ensuring that companies enforce their platform policies correctly. In terms of digital markets, it is also important that customers know what fair access they have to markets and that they will be treated fairly by platforms, and that the platforms make clear what their terms of service are.

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