Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport written question – answered at on 30 July 2026.
Lord Black of Brentwood
Conservative
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety and privacy risks of online age-assurance safety checks which require Biometric or identity data to be submitted to online platforms via third-party providers for LGBT+ users.
Baroness Lloyd of Effra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade), Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Age assurance under the Online Safety Act should work effectively for all users regardless of their age or other characteristics.
Government, ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office have all been clear that age assurance methods should be safe, proportionate and secure, with services obliged to minimise the use of personal data, only collecting and retaining it where necessary and proportionate for age assurance purposes. Organisations failing to comply with these requirements may be subject to regulatory enforcement action.
Ofcom’s recently published report on age assurance found that services have demonstrated a strong awareness of privacy and data protection requirements.
A measured and/or recorded biological parameter. Example: passport-type photo, finger print, iris detail, retina blood vessel detail, voice pattern, and DNA signature. Technically speaking, mentally stored information is also biometric, so this includes: signature or monograph, PIN number, password and passphrase.
Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
Ofcom Web Site http://www.ofcom.org.uk
