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Written question asked by Samantha Niblett (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Kanishka Narayan (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Artificial Intelligence: Children

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to protect children from harm caused by AI chatbots.

Answer

We have taken a power in the Crime and Policing Act to close loopholes in the Online Safety Act regarding AI chatbots. This means unregulated chatbots will have to comply with duties under the Online Safety Act to protect their users from illegal content once the relevant legislation is passed.

Alongside this we are considering the evidence from the ‘Growing up in the online world’ consultation. Some responses felt that chatbots could support children’s wellbeing. However, we also heard concerns about how these services can provide children with harmful, misleading, or inaccurate advice.

Following the publication of the progress statement in June, we plan to provide a further update on the consultation in the coming weeks.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
15101
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Children Protection Safety Artificial intelligence
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk