Baroness Kidron: I speak to Amendment 24 in my name and that of the noble Lords, Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Kennedy of Southwark, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee. This sets out the safeguards and protections that should exist if we ask a child to commit a crime as a covert human intelligence source. I pay tribute to the work that many have done on this issue, including the noble Lords who support...
Baroness Kidron: I speak to Amendment 24 in my name and that of the noble Lords, Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Kennedy of Southwark, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee. This sets out the safeguards and protections that should exist if we ask a child to commit a crime as a covert human intelligence source. I pay tribute to the work that many have done on this issue, including the noble Lords who support...
Baroness Kidron: Well, I am somewhat surprised. I want to say at the outset that I do not doubt the passion of the Minister himself for protecting children, just as he does not doubt my passion. But this is not about passion; it is about insurance. I am surprised that, even though he set out at great length the online harms legislation—and I indeed agree with him that that is where we will ensure that all...
Baroness Kidron: My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 23 in my name and those of the noble Lords, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, Lord Clement-Jones and Lord Sheikh. This amendment represents the wishes of many colleagues from all sides of the house, and with that in mind I have informed the clerk that we intend to divide the House. I refer noble Lords to my interests in the register, particularly that as chair...
Baroness Kidron: My Lords, the arrival of the Government’s response is most welcome, particularly its focus on young people. However, its focus on user-generated content, company size and the large number of exceptions move it away from the earlier and more flexible focus on assessing risk and preventing harm wherever it might be found. Concerningly, it leaves the system open to being gamed as companies...
Baroness Kidron: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will permit onward data transfers of UK personal data under Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules.
Baroness Kidron: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the monetary value of trade involving personal data between the UK and Japan.
Baroness Kidron: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of accepting transfers made under Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules on (1) the privacy rights of (a) UK citizens, (b) children, and (c) disadvantaged groups, and (2) the enforcement of data protection provisions under Section 123 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Baroness Kidron: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the monetary value of trade involving personal data between the UK and the EU.
Baroness Kidron: My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of the 5Rights Foundation. During the passage of the Data Protection Act 2018 this House introduced an amendment to create a data protection regime for children which specifically bound the legislation to the UNCRC. This provided an impenetrable barrier from what was to become a co-ordinated attack of global tech companies trying to water down the...
Baroness Kidron: My Lords, we are to be an independent trading nation, but while the terms upon which that happens are deeply contested, I am sure there is not one iota of disagreement that we must safeguard the UK’s children. However, it seems that the Trade Bill and the trade agreements it enables are a threat to our children from an unexpected quarter. I declare my interest as chair of the 5Rights...
Baroness Kidron: The United Kingdom is home to ground-breaking domestic legislation—such as the recently passed age-appropriate design code and the upcoming online harms Bill—that seeks to protect children online. However, the protections that these measures offer are at risk from an aggressive lobbying effort that is leveraging the US-UK trade negotiations and might undermine our domestic regulation. In...
Baroness Kidron: I agree with those who say that we should not attempt to erase history, but our public spaces, just like our curriculum, our cultural narratives and our public institutions, reflect only a partial history of Britain. Protestors are not trying to forget that; rather, they are demanding to be remembered. This morning, the PM wrote that he will resist with every breath in his body the editing or...
Baroness Kidron: I declare my interests on the register. The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the online risks facing children, in addition to age-inappropriate content. There is an emerging picture that includes grooming, child sexual abuse, financial scamming, threats of violence, misinformation and identity theft, at a time when children have no choice but to be online to access every part of...
Baroness Kidron: My Lords, like thousands of others, this weekend, I joined an online protest organised by Black Lives Matter. I was struck by the youth of the speakers who eloquently articulated very practical demands about our education system, the job market, housing, health, political representation and, above all, the justice system. These young people are yet again having to protest the indignities and...
Baroness Kidron: The Minister will be aware of a letter sent last night by children’s charities setting out the many harms that have increased during the pandemic. They are now demanding that the Government should lay the code. My understanding is that doing so would take only a handful of hours for the Civil Service and just minutes of parliamentary time. Given that, can the Minister explain what is in the...
Baroness Kidron: My Lords, I refer the House to my interests in the register. Children and young people are the demographic most likely to access their news online and least likely to have the funds to get behind a paywall, and they have little life experience from which to identify misinformation. A recent Pew report shows that those who believe in conspiracy theories are the least likely to observe social...
Baroness Kidron: My Lords, the power of the creative industries is often expressed in its ability to generate £100 billion to the economy, but perhaps more important is its contribution to the national psyche. Since lockdown, one of the few bright spots in this difficult time has been to witness the irrepressible creativity and joy that results from the rise of book and film clubs, galleries and theatre...
Baroness Kidron: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in response to The Cairncross Review: a sustainable future for journalism.
Baroness Kidron: My Lords, it has been a year since Dame Frances Cairncross published her review, A Sustainable Future for Journalism. Cairncross’s remit was “to consider the sustainability of the production and distribution of high-quality journalism, and especially the future of the press”. The review’s six chapters outline: the importance of high-quality journalism to democracy; the rapidly...