Lord Stevenson of Balmacara: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, on securing this interesting debate. I have often found myself in opposition to him on various Bills and committees over the years but I have noticed a rather worrying tendency to agree more and more with what he says—I hope that is reciprocated—but I am sure it is because we are both squash players and accountants...
Maria Miller: ...in this area, and not only that but help and support for victims through the revenge pornography helpline. I welcome the new guidance that has been issued to schools on sexting. I also welcome the Digital Economy Bill, which, for the first time, starts to put in place laws that recognise that the online world is very different—that is, the laws about age verification for accessing...
Philip Dunne: ...move was always in the same direction. My concern is that the amount could decline between one year and the next; it may not always go up—certainly not up in a straight line. Separately from the Bill, the Government are taking action to secure the UK’s future as an attractive place for the life sciences sector and to support faster patient access to medical innovations. I have already...
Lord Prior of Brampton: Unquestionably, there is more that can be done. Some of those sites, certainly some of the pornographic sites, are being addressed in the Digital Economy Bill that is going through the House at the moment. But we are working with the national council and the Samaritans, which in turn are talking to people like Google and YouTube and the digital providers to see what we can do in this area. We...
Baroness Shields: ...Government’s position and our broader approach to ensuring children’s safety online in our connected society. As noble Lords will know by now, I can confirm the developments on Report of the Digital Economy Bill earlier this week, specifically around family-friendly filters with respect to net neutrality, and on our proposals requiring age verification for sites delivering pornographic...
Derek Mackay: ...take this opportunity to respond to the autumn statement that was delivered last week by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and to set out its implications for Scotland’s public finances and wider economy. The autumn statement and the accompanying analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility starkly highlighted the detrimental impact of Brexit and the United Kingdom Government’s...
Digital Economy Bill - First Reading
Matthew Hancock: Improving mobile connectivity across the UK is a priority for the Government, and the licence obligations on mobile operators are legally binding and enforceable by Ofcom. The Government's Digital Economy Bill, currently going through Parliament, will strengthen Ofcom’s enforcement powers by enabling it to issue fines to mobile phone companies that fail to meet their licence obligations.
Matthew Hancock: ...general conditions that it considers appropriate for protecting the interests of the end-users of public electronic communications services. Breaches of conditions are enforceable by Ofcom. The Digital Economy Bill makes explicit Ofcom’s power to require communications providers to adhere to defined automatic compensation regimes.
Matthew Hancock: ...across the UK, especially in those areas where coverage is poor, is a priority for the Government. The licence obligations arising from the December 2014 agreement have locked in investment of £5 billion and are delivering improved coverage across the UK. To support industry, our regulatory reforms to mobile planning laws in England, which came into force on 24 November, and the...
Lord Ashton of Hyde: ...the guidance for communications providers when placing site notices for pole installation. A summary of the latest Code of Practice review is included in the Impact Assessment for Clause 7 of the Digital Economy Bill and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/digital-economy-b ill-part-2-digital-infrastructure Broadband Planning Impact Assessment (PDF...
Calum Kerr: I should like to add to the positive vibes coming from both Front Benchers and join them in thanking the Clerks. I particularly want to thank those in the Public Bill Office, who have been fantastic in dealing with someone who is still relatively new to all this and sometimes does not get things right first time. Officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and in Ofcom have also...
Pete Wishart: ...in relation to my recorded work. I would say that this has been a good evening. The concessions we have heard from the Minister are most definitely to be welcomed. I am a veteran of the former Digital Economy Bill. Looking around the Chamber, I can see a few people who still bear the scars of that experience. I must say—this is my first contribution on this Digital Economy Bill—that...
...403(1A)(b) of the Education Act 1996, add— “(c) they learn about the risks and dangers of internet pornography, and the legal age requirement to access internet pornography under Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act 2017.””—(Kevin Brennan.) This new clause would mean that the Secretary of State would have to include in guidance to maintained schools that pupils learn as part of sex...
John Whittingdale: ...take this as a precedent for saying, “It is fine to block content that we do not particularly like,” I think that it is a dangerous road to go down. I hope that the measures originally in the Bill will prove sufficient, that operators will introduce age verification and that we will pause before taking the next step and introducing ISP blocking. To that extent, I rather hope that this...
Digital Economy Bill (Programme) (No. 3)
Digital Economy Bill