Adjournment debate on Thursday, 13 November 2008, in the House of Commons, led by John Whittingdale. The answering member was Barbara Follett.

Internet and Video Games

Westminster Hall debate on a motion for the adjournment on internet and video games. (Relevant documents: Culture, Media and Sport Committee tenth report of session 2007-08, HC 353, and the Government response, Cm 7477.)

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 482 c335-78WH
Session: 2007-08
Department: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Chamber / Committee: Westminster Hall
Related items: Harmful content on the internet and in video games. Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's tenth report of session 2007-08 (HC 353).
Monday, 6 October 2008
Command papers
House of Lords
House of Commons; Harmful content on the internet and in video games. Culture Media and Sport Select Committee tenth report of session 2007-08 in 2 volumes with proceedings and evidence (HC 353 i-vii not printed separately).
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons
Proceeding contributions: Speaker | 482 c372WH (Link to this contribution) Order. Before the hon. Member for Wantage does so, and although I am conscious that his speech is bo...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c372WH (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my mentee for giving way. As his mentor, I advise him that, in his position as the ...; Paul Farrelly | 482 c352WH (Link to this contribution) I take that point and the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer) about t...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c351WH (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his honesty in saying that the reason for choosing the BBFC ...; Paul Farrelly | 482 c349-51WH (Link to this contribution) Life is too short. We interviewed many people, and Dr. Tanya Byron was certainly one of the most im...; Keith Vaz | 482 c349WH (Link to this contribution) Why not?; John Whittingdale | 482 c346WH (Link to this contribution) I am aware that I have perhaps occupied the Committee’s time to the point of pushing my luck, so I s...; Janet Anderson | 482 c347-8WH (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate, and I shall try to be brief, because I kno...; Nick Palmer | 482 c346WH (Link to this contribution) I notice that in, paragraph 199 of the report, the Committee responds to Microsoft’s point by making...; Speaker | 482 c346WH (Link to this contribution) Order. May I make the point that interventions, although they have without exception been of impecca...; Paul Farrelly | 482 c349WH (Link to this contribution) I thank the Chairman of the Select Committee. I apologise—I have not come forearmed with a comprehen...; Paul Farrelly | 482 c348-9WH (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr. Bercow, as a fellow parent of three young children. I ...; John Whittingdale | 482 c349WH (Link to this contribution) I shall point this out before the Minister does, because I am sure that she would. Although it is tr...; Madeleine Moon | 482 c358WH (Link to this contribution) The Chairman of the Select Committee is absolutely right. That is a problem, but the big problem is ...; Madeleine Moon | 482 c358-9WH (Link to this contribution) Indeed they are, because youngsters lie about their ages. The problem is how to prove their age. The...; John Whittingdale | 482 c358WH (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady raises another interesting point, which I discovered to my cost. She describes her exp...; Madeleine Moon | 482 c360-1WH (Link to this contribution) I completely share the hon. Gentleman’s views. Sometimes, one gets too old for the changing values o...; John Hayes | 482 c360WH (Link to this contribution) The important thing about what the hon. Lady has just said is not that the people who read those com...; John Hayes | 482 c352-3WH (Link to this contribution) I intend to speak very briefly for three reasons: first, because I was not able to be here at the be...; Keith Vaz | 482 c353-4WH (Link to this contribution) I apologise to you, Mr. Bercow, and to the House for being late for the opening speech by the Chairm...; Janet Anderson | 482 c354WH (Link to this contribution) It was not my WeeMee.; Keith Vaz | 482 c354-6WH (Link to this contribution) No, it was not my hon. Friend’s WeeMee. I was once voted the third most unpopular person in the wor...; Madeleine Moon | 482 c356-8WH (Link to this contribution) Although I am not a member of the Committee and I played no part in its compilation of the report, I...; John Whittingdale | 482 c358WH (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady raises an interesting point. I have debated the matter with the PCC, and I understand ...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c367WH (Link to this contribution) Given that there is to be at least a dual-headed chairmanship, does the hon. Gentleman not find it b...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c366-7WH (Link to this contribution) Effectively, that is what I am saying. My hon. Friend will be delighted to know that, when I move on...; John Hayes | 482 c366WH (Link to this contribution) I am delighted that my hon. Friend is saying that the internet not only acts as a vehicle for what h...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c365-6WH (Link to this contribution) I am extremely pleased to be speaking under your chairmanship, Mr. Bercow. Given that we have discus...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c365WH (Link to this contribution) I was moving towards saying that, and I welcome that recommendation. We need something to pull every...; Paul Farrelly | 482 c364-5WH (Link to this contribution) One of the Committee’s main concerns was that, if complaints are refused, no further action can be t...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c364WH (Link to this contribution) We can debate statistics, but for the record the latest figures that I have show that of the 50 game...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c363-4WH (Link to this contribution) Given that I have already acknowledged that I am by no means an expert on video games, I had better ...; John Whittingdale | 482 c364WH (Link to this contribution) That is a matter of dispute. There are examples on each side, but I direct the hon. Gentleman to ““S...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c361-3WH (Link to this contribution) I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Bercow. I congratulate the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on an ...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c363WH (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will have heard the concerns expressed by my hon. Friend the Member for South Hol...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c371WH (Link to this contribution) None whatever. I have no objection to the right hon. Gentleman criticising ““Grand Theft Auto””, eit...; Keith Vaz | 482 c371WH (Link to this contribution) There is nothing wrong in principle with increasing the size of the 18-plus warning label on the fro...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c372WH (Link to this contribution) That is absolutely right. There are advantages in both systems. The consultation closes on 20 Novem...; Keith Vaz | 482 c371WH (Link to this contribution) To be clear about this, I did not expose the hon. Gentleman at the secret tea; he came up to me and ...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c369-70WH (Link to this contribution) I cannot start a conversation with the hon. Lady about that now, but I would be interested to know h...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c370-1WH (Link to this contribution) I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I am now into the territory of making up policy on t...; Paul Farrelly | 482 c370WH (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I did not want to interrupt the Darth Vader story. With r...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c367-8WH (Link to this contribution) Absolutely. I do not wish to make up policy on the hoof, but we would not necessarily vigorously opp...; Paul Farrelly | 482 c368WH (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman said that it is absurd to say that we cannot regulate the internet, but it is a m...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c368-9WH (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. To a certain extent, it is in big brands’ self-interest to ...; Madeleine Moon | 482 c369WH (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I can help the hon. Gentleman. I can provide him with a booklet published by Google, which g...; John Whittingdale | 482 c335-9WH (Link to this contribution) That is an interesting point. Access to sites is not illegal. That is one of the matters that causes...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c340WH (Link to this contribution) I wonder if my hon. Friend has had discussions with the BBC about the programmes that it puts online...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c335WH (Link to this contribution) During the innumerable meetings that the hon. Gentleman had, did he have the opportunity to find out...; John Whittingdale | 482 c335WH (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Bercow. This is an excellent opportunity to ...; John Whittingdale | 482 c344-5WH (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend. I hope that he noted that I did not say it should be banned, even if th...; Nick Palmer | 482 c345WH (Link to this contribution) I read the Committee’s report with great interest and am listening with interest to the hon. Gentlem...; John Whittingdale | 482 c345-6WH (Link to this contribution) That is the alternative argument. It is true that more and more games are likely to be made availabl...; Keith Vaz | 482 c344WH (Link to this contribution) Let me apologise to you, Mr. Bercow, and to the hon. Gentleman for missing his earlier remarks. The...; John Whittingdale | 482 c344WH (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is entirely right. The video games industry is increasingly important and generates m...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c344WH (Link to this contribution) May I make a point to my hon. Friend? In his response to the right hon. Member for Leicester, East (...; John Whittingdale | 482 c344WH (Link to this contribution) This is a very difficult area and ““Kaboom””, which has been around for a little while, is an intere...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c343WH (Link to this contribution) Before the hon. Gentleman moves on to his final comments, when he will no doubt discuss the British ...; John Whittingdale | 482 c340-3WH (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend raises an interesting question. It is fair to say that I have had discussions on a nu...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c343-4WH (Link to this contribution) I invite my hon. Friend, in the tone of his remarks, to make the point that when we talk about harmf...; John Whittingdale | 482 c343WH (Link to this contribution) I did touch on those issues, although I did not point out the Government’s failure to respond fully ...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c377-8WH (Link to this contribution) What Minister just listed is identical to what Dr. Tanya Byron recommended, and would obviously lead...; Barbara Follett | 482 c377WH (Link to this contribution) I agree. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that this subject must be kept under constant review. I ...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c372WH (Link to this contribution) It is a humiliating position not only to be admonished by the Chair but to be accused by a Liberal D...; Barbara Follett | 482 c375-6WH (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for that suggestion. I must say that, although targets and similar things are...; Lord Foster of Bath | 482 c376WH (Link to this contribution) May I suggest a system that some organisations use? Whenever a credit card is used for age verificat...; Barbara Follett | 482 c376WH (Link to this contribution) That is worth exploring, particularly as many children have access to their parents’ credit cards. I...; John Hayes | 482 c376-7WH (Link to this contribution) The difficulty is not with the scientific method. It is hard to glean empirical results in this area...; Barbara Follett | 482 c372-3WH (Link to this contribution) Thank you for your calm chairing of this extremely interesting debate, Mr. Bercow. I thank and congr...; John Hayes | 482 c373WH (Link to this contribution) I can tell that the Minister is about to avail the Committee with an extensive list of the proposals...; Barbara Follett | 482 c373-5WH (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the council will consider that. We must get the message across, and it is through suc...; Paul Farrelly | 482 c375WH (Link to this contribution) I have read ““How to be a Minister””, and much good it has done me. The Minister will know that reg...; Speaker | 482 c378WH (Link to this contribution) Order.; Barbara Follett | 482 c378WH (Link to this contribution) The message from internet service providers, video games makers and the people who consume them is t...; Barbara Follett | 482 c378WH (Link to this contribution) No; I assure the hon. Gentleman that that is not what I meant. At the moment, the BBFC system is sta...; Lord Vaizey of Didcot | 482 c378WH (Link to this contribution) If only other Ministers—
Subjects: Children Internet Pornography Young people Violence Video games
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk

Internet and Video Games

Secondary information

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