The DCMS Committee has welcomed Government action on proposals
put forward in its report on the draft
Online Safety Bill but called for clarity on whether
there are plans for a new joint committee to scrutinise the
legislation.
The official Government
response, published today, accepts eight of the Committee’s
key recommendations, which have also been reflected in changes to
the Bill which was presented to Parliament
last week. The Government has also welcomed the Committee’s
conclusions and recommendations in many other areas.
In line with the Committee’s recommendation, the response from
the Government also explicitly states that it “will not be
supporting the establishment of a permanent Joint Committee on
Digital Regulation”. The Committee will however be writing
to the DCMS department for clarification following comments made this morning
by the Secretary of State in the House of Commons.
Chair's comments
DCMS Committee Chair said:
“This response from the Government shows that the Committee’s
expert pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill has been instrumental
in bringing about changes which will have a tangible effect in
making the online environment safer for all. We now have a Bill
that is in much better shape than when it was first published.
We are pleased that the Government has taken the opportunity to
explicitly put on record its opposition to establishing a new
joint committee on digital regulation. With no support at the top
of Government, the proposal should be dead in the water. It is
therefore puzzling in the least that the Secretary of State has
this morning gone out on a limb and suggested it could still be
on the cards and brought in by the back door.
It would be a completely unnecessary and costly step given that
our Committee has consistently proven its worth in this area and
we will be writing to the Department for urgent clarification.”
Among the accepted recommendations are the strengthening of
Parliament’s role in designating what constitutes legal but
harmful content and the need for more detail about the measures
service providers should take to prevent uses encountering
illegal content.
Further information
