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Written question asked by Jas Athwal (Labour) on Monday, 17 March 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 March 2025. It was answered by Feryal Clark (Labour) on Tuesday, 25 March 2025 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.


Internet: Children

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help protect children from (a) deception, (b) bullying, (c) abuse and (d) harmful content online.

Answer

Our priority is the implementation of the Online Safety Act so children benefit from its protections.

The Act requires services to protect users from illegal content. Companies will also need to assess whether their service is likely to be accessed by children and provide safety measures to protect them from harmful and age-inappropriate content and activity, such as abuse, bullying, and content that promotes eating disorders or self-harm. Measures include using age assurance and changing their algorithms to filter out harmful content.

The illegal content duties are now in effect and the child safety duties will be enforceable by this summer.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
38791
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Bullying Children Abuse Internet Protection Personation Safety
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk