Flagship law will make UK safest place in the world to be online, says minister
The Independent The UK will be the safest place in the world to be online especially for children under a landmark new law, a minister has said.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay was speaking as the long-awaited flagship Online Safety Bill cleared Parliament and headed for royal assent.
The legislation, which has been years in the drafting, imposes new legal duties on big tech companies and service providers, overseen by the regulator Ofcom, headed by veteran TV executive Lord Grade of Yarmouth.
The reforms come in response to continuing concern about youngsters accessing pornographic content online, child sexual abuse in cyberspace and the impact of harmful material on social media, which has led young people to take their lives.
Digital minister Lord Parkinson said: The intention of this Bill is to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online, particularly for children.
I firmly believe the Bill will do that, strengthened by the changes which have been made in this House and by the collaborative approach which has been shown not just in all quarters of this House but between both Houses of Parliament.
