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Internet: Offences against Children

Asked by Jim ShannonDemocratic Unionist PartyDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled Answered 11 September 2024UIN 3977

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Online Safety Act 2023 to help tackle online grooming.

Answered by Feryal Clark

The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are against child sexual abuse and exploitation. The higher the risk on a service, the more measures and safeguards they will need to take to keep their users safe from harm, and prevent their services being used as a platform to groom and exploit children

Ofcom, the online safety regulator, has strong powers to combat this kind of abuse and will keep its codes of practice to tackle illegal harms under review.

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