Political Monitor 12/06/2020

12 June 2020

Covid-19

DCMS announces whitelisting of victim support sites

DCMS and the Ministry of Justice have published details of a new agreement with mobile operators to remove sites relating to victim support from data caps throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. MNOs including EE, Vodafone, O2, Three, Sky Mobile, Virgin Media, Tesco Mobile and giffgaff have committed to whitelist sites including NSPCC and Victim Support. This comes in addition to existing commitments around supporting vulnerable customers where all data caps on fixed broadband services have already been lifted.

Broadband

Access to Infrastructure Regulations Call for Evidence

DCMS have published a call for evidence on their Review of the Access to Infrastructure (ATI) Regulations. This looks at ways to share existing infrastructure from telecoms and other utilities to reduce cost and increase speed of rollout. The call for evidence, which closes on 4^th September is particularly looking for views from potential access seekers, potential access providers and telecoms operators around the market need, procedural improvements needed and improvement in the usage of the regulations.
The terms of reference include:

What type of infrastructure would you want to access using the ATI Regulations?
How effective are the current ATI Regulations at encouraging infrastructure sharing to deploy gigabit capable networks?
Are there current legislative or regulatory barriers to using the ATI regulations?
Are there any other non-legislative and regulatory barriers to infrastructure sharing?
Do you have any other suggestions for the Government, regulators or industry on what can be done to improve infrastructure sharing or the transparency of infrastructure data?

CEBR report estimates 1.2m jobs boost from full fibre

The Centre for Economics and Business Research has published a report which claims that full fibre broadband and the consequent growth of the digital economy would create 1.2m skilled jobs by 2025. The report states that tech will be a key feature of the UK’s covid-19 recovery, and the sector continues to grow twice as fast as the economy. It calls for a permissive immigration policy post-Brexit and a reskilling campaign for those who have lost jobs due to the pandemic.

National Infrastructure Commission give evidence on the Government’s management of major projects

Representatives from the National Infrastructure Commission, including James Heath as CEO gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee. Heath stressed the “real public benefit for improving digital infrastructure” as more services moved online. He also stated that coordinating smaller elements such as planning into coherent goals was difficult and “required political leadership”. Chair of the NIC, Sir John Armitt also noted that infrastructure in general had held up well during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that the role of digital infrastructure particularly had been underlined.

Parliamentary Question on abuse of telecoms engineers

Stephanie Peacock MP (Lab) asked a the Home Office if they plant o give any support to broadband engineers who may fear abuse as a result of misinformation around 5G. Security Minister, James Brokenshire MP, responded by outlining the National Crime Agency response to these incidents in a collaborative effort with industry. As part of this response, the NCA has issued guidance for the telecommunications industry to issue to their staff on what they can do to ensure they remain safe and what they should do in certain situations. Further to this, he highlighted the work being done with Social Media companies to table the root of the spread of misinformation and limit the impact of 5G conspiracy theories.

Parliamentary Question on telecoms disconnections

James Murray MP (Lab) asked a question on the number of broadband disconnections as a result of unpaid Bills there had been in the last two years. in response, Matt Warman MP, the Digital and Broadband Minister, noted Ofcom’s ongoing work into the affordability of broadband, with the findings expected to be published at the end of the year. He also highlighted the commitments of telecoms operators to support those having difficulty paying bills throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Parliamentary Question on telecoms infrastructure

Steve McCabe MP (Lab) asked a question regarding the removal of redundant telecoms equipment. In his answer, Digital Minister, Matt Warman MP noted Ofcom’s code of Practice for the Electronic Communications Code which requires sites not longer required are decommissioned in a “reasonable timeframe”.

Cyber Security

Vodafone warns UK against banning Huawei

Vodafone has warned the Government that their 5g ambitions will face a huge blow if they exclude Huawei from telecoms infrastructure. Scott Petty, Vodafone UK’s chief Technology Officer said, “The UK’s leadership in 5G will be lost if mobile operators are forced to spend time and money replacing existing equipment”. The company warned that excluding Huawei would force UK mobile operators to spend more time and money replacing existing equipment.

Government invests £10 million to help make future technologies more secure

On Thursday, Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden MP announced that the Government would provide £10 million over four years to develop cyber security technologies. The funding will be split between nine recipients in the Government’s ‘Digital Security by Design’ programme. Banks, healthcare services or online retailers could use the software produced by the grant winners, in their day-to-day systems, reducing costly cyber-attacks or data breaches.

Online Safety

Lords debate exposure of Children to harmful content

On Thursday, Lord Clement-Jones asked what assessment the Government had made following the publication of research by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) on the extent of exposure of children and teens to harmful or upsetting content while in lockdown. The research had shown that during lockdown, 47% of all children and teens have seen content that they wish they had not. DCMS Minister, Baroness Barron referenced the new online harms legislation which would be ready in “this Session” saying that Children’s online safety remained a priority for the Government. Baroness Barron also reassured peers that the Government was requiring a duty of care on social media and other online content providers.

Age appropriate design code laid in Parliament

The Age Appropriate Design Code has been laid before Parliament this week. This has been welcomed by the ICO, describing it as a “huge step towards protecting children online”. The code sets out 15 standards that relevant online services should meet to protect children’s privacy and is the result of wide-ranging consultation with the tech industry, campaigners, trade bodies and organisations. The Code applies to services which are likely to be accessed by children in the UK. This includes but is not limited to apps, search engines, social media platforms, streaming services, and educational websites.

Digital Minister Gives evidence on COVID-19 impact

During oral evidence to the DCMS Committee, Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister for Digital and Culture, was asked by Conservative MP, Damien Hinds when the Online Harms legislation would be ready. She responded that the Government wanted to get it delivered as soon as possible but could not give a solid date. Dinenage said that the legislation would focus on illegal content directly, but on the content, which was not illegal but harmful, the regulator would be responsible for that. Social media companies would be required to define what was harmful and come up with a solution to tackling it.

Parliamentary Question on Online Harms Bill

Mary Kelly Foy MP (Lab) asked DCMS what the timescale is for the introduction of the Online Harms Bill. Caroline Dineage replied that the “Government is committed to making the UK the safest place to be online. DCMS and the Home Office are working at pace to develop the legislation. We will publish a full Government response later this year, and legislation will be ready this session”.

Parliamentary Question on Online Safety

Chris Elmore MP (Lab) asked DCMS what data the Department holds on the amount of harmful online content which was removed over the last two year. Caroline Dinenage replied that DCMS did not hold any data relating to the removal of harmful online content but referenced the Online Harms paper saying how “the regulator will have the power to require annual transparency reports from companies in scope, outlining the prevalence of harmful content on their platforms and what measures they are taking to address this”.

Parliamentary Question on the protection of Children from Child Sexual Abuse

Ian Mearns MP asked the Home Office what steps they are taking to protect children and young people from child sexual abuse at home and online during the covid-19 outbreak. Home Office Minister, Victoria Atkins MP responded that:

The Government was working with Law Enforcement, the UK Intelligence Community, safeguarding partners and the third sector to ensure they have the resources they need to tackle offending and provide the greatest protection for vulnerable children.
They have worked with the National Crime Agency to launch the #OnlineSafetyAtHome campaign, the Department for Education has also published interim safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges encouraging them to disseminate advice on online safety and we have published guidance for parents and carers on gov.uk.
The Government made £1.6 million available immediately for the NSPCC to expand and promote its national helpline for adults.
The Prime Minister hosted a virtual summit focused on ‘hidden harms’, including child sexual abuse
The Home Office will distribute £7.8 million in emergency support for charities helping vulnerable children who have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

Other

Liz Truss launches future trade strategy for UK tech industry

On Wednesday, International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss MP announced a range of measures to help boost digital trade and establish the UK tech industry as a global player. Truss expressed her support and admiration for the UK’s tech industry, which last year attracted £10 billion worth of investment, up 44% from 2018 and more than France and Germany combined.

The Trade Secretary unveiled a package of strategic interventions during London Tech week which aim to help UK tech companies make the most of trade and investment opportunities overseas. The new measures will aim to increase tech exports to fast-growing international markets and attract investment to drive innovation and create jobs.