Lords Committee concerned about implementation and effectiveness of Codes of Practice designed to protect children online

The Committee’s 25th report highlights the following key concerns:

• Government approach to implementation of the Codes and the risk of potential regulatory gaps – The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Ofcom told the Committee that this was the first iteration of the Codes, and their intention was to monitor closely how service providers implement the measures to identify any gaps in protection for children. This would thereafter inform the prioritisation of future work to strengthen the measures. Both departments also acknowledged that not all individual risks for children that service providers identify when carrying out their risk assessments will have corresponding measures in in the Codes. The report questions whether this iterative approach was envisaged when Parliament passed the Online Safety Act and concludes that effective monitoring will be essential and DSIT and Ofcom will need to ensure that any shortcomings are addressed at the earliest opportunity. Any necessary legislative changes should be implemented as soon as possible.

• Consultation Process – The Committee received submissions from external stakeholder organisations which suggested that their views were not fully considered by Ofcom during its consultation. The report stresses the importance of taking on board consultation feedback received from civil society organisations and suggests the House may wish to press the Minister further on this and seek assurance about the way future consultation exercises will be conducted and feedback will be acted upon.

• Resourcing – Monitoring and enforcing the implementation of the Codes and wider online safety regime will have a substantial effect on Ofcom. Although DSIT made it clear to the Committee that it felt Ofcom had sufficient funding, significant concerns remained as to whether the regulator has enough staff with appropriate expertise to carry out its new responsibilities. The report asks the House to consider questioning the Minister further on the adequacy of the resources available to Ofcom to carry out its extensive regulatory responsibilities under the Online Safety Act.

• Complaints process – The report questions the practicality of asking children to complain to a service provider in situations where they come into contact with harmful content. It also highlights the lack of clarity around what would happen in situations where complaints from children were rejected by service providers. The report recommends that the House should consider pressing the Minister further on the suitability and effectiveness of the provisions in the Codes for complaint arrangements for children.

Lord Watson of Invergowrie, Chair of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, said:

“In a world where we increasingly rely on technology as part of our day to day lives, ensuring children are safe when they are online is of paramount importance and is a key priority across society. We acknowledge the efforts made by successive governments so far to effectively tackle this issue and protect children from harmful online activity.

“However, it is clear from the concerns we have highlighted in our report that there are many issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure that the draft Codes of Practice operate in an effective manner. While it is not our role to adjudicate on the numerous concerns raised by external stakeholders and civil society organisations, we have brought the Codes to the special attention of the House and made it clear that it may wish to seek further assurance from the Minister on the approach to future consultations and on how Parliament will be kept informed of the progress in tackling online harm.”