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Police and Justice Bill

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for speaking to the amendments, but ultimately we cannot commend them to the Committee. We believe that criminal responsibility should apply as much online as it does in the physical world—I almost said the metaphysical world—but we do not believe that there is a need to treat Computer Misuse Act offences differently from other offences. Under-18s are capable of understanding the consequences of their online actions in the same way as they do their offline actions. I often think that they understand online consequences far more clearly than people of our generation. I ought to put in a disclaimer of sorts there, but having noticed my teenage children working online, that certainly is the case. That said, any under-18s who commit an offence under these provisions would be eligible for a fine or warning if they admitted their guilt and it was their first or second offence, in which case the young person can be assessed to determine the causes of their offending behaviour and to identify a programme of activities to address them. I hope that, having heard that explanation, the noble Baroness will withdraw the amendment.