New measures not enough to protect children from internet porn – Lords committee

Proposed new online safety laws fail to give children strong enough protection from online porn, peers have warned.

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee is concerned that pornography websites which do not allow users to share content are not covered by the government’s draft Online Safety Bill.

In a letter to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, the committee welcomes the draft Bill’s protections for children against content which may be harmful to them but wants the government to go further.

Lord Gilbert of Panteg, chair of the committee, said:

“Keeping children safe online is essential.

“Ensuring that these websites take appropriate steps to prevent children from accessing them, and ensuring that they do not host illegal content, is crucial.

“We share the government’s aim of making the internet safer for our citizens. Britain has an opportunity to lead the world in human-rights based internet regulation. We must get this right.”

The committee has outlined other areas where evidence which it has heard in its inquiry into freedom of expression online“points to some different legislative solutions than the ones currently selected by the government”, including the definition of harm, ‘content of democratic importance’ and journalistic content.