Part of Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:45 am on 17 March 2022.
I support my hon. Friend in pressing the amendment to a vote. As we heard from the Minister, the Bill covers quite a lot of different devices. The examples given by the Government in their impact assessment include the following:
“Smartphones; connectable cameras, TVs and speakers; connectable children’s toys and baby monitors; connectable safety-relevant products such as smoke detectors and door locks; Internet of Things base stations and hubs to which multiple devices connect; wearable connectable fitness trackers; outdoor leisure products, such as handheld connectable GPS devices that are not wearables; connectable home automation and alarm systems; connectable appliances, such as washing machines and fridges” and, as we have heard, “smart home assistants”, including things such as Alexa-type smart speaker products.
I would like to understand from the Minister why online marketplaces are not included, and how many of the devices that the Government list in their impact assessment are acquired from online marketplaces and would therefore be outside the Bill’s scope, if my hon. Friend’s amendment and the concerns Which? has expressed are right. Of the products I listed—the Government’s own list—how many are purchased through online markets and how many are purchased in a more traditional fashion? It seems likely that the numbers of products purchased online will only increase over time; I have personally purchased several of the products on that list online, and I am sure other members of the Committee have as well. Can the Minister explain in a bit more detail the Government’s thinking as to why they are excluding online distributors from the Bill, such as those outlined by my hon. Friend and those of concern to consumer organisations such as Which?