Will Ofcom’s proposed additional safety measures help to protect children online? Lords Committee hears from campaigners
The Communications and Digital Committee takes evidence from online safety campaigners as it investigates Ofcom’s proposed new measures to protect children online.
Meeting details
At 2:15pm: Oral evidence
Work
Online Safety Act (Non-inquiry session)
Chief Executive Officer at Molly Rose Foundation
Policy and Influencing Manager at NSPCC
Founder at 5Rights Foundation
Background
Ofcom is consulting on adding further measures to its existing codes of practice under the Online Safety Act, including measures aimed at improving protections for children online. This session is the second of two public evidence sessions the Committee will hold on the consultation as part of its work to scrutinise the implementation and effectiveness of the Online Safety Act.
Possible areas for discussion
Possible areas for discussion with witnesses include:
- The likely effectiveness of Ofcom’s proposed new protections and how Ofcom can keep pace with emerging harms and technologies.
- How concerns about privacy and proportionality regarding use of age assurance technologies can be balanced with delivering strong protections for children.
- Whether the proposed new protections around livestreams are adequate and whether children should be banned from livestreaming altogether.
- How effective proposed measures including hash matching and user bans will be in combating child sexual exploitation and abuse offences online.