Political Monitor 17/01/2020

17 January 2020

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Broadband

Questions to the PM on Broadband

Following questions form Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP (Con) and Andrew Griffith MP (Con) the Prime Minister reemphasised the Government commitment to put £5bn into the roll-out of gigabit broadband with a roll-out deadline of 2025. Full text from PMQs can be found here

DCMS Questions on Full Fibre and Gigabit-capable Broadband

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Matt Warman MP, answered questions from former DCMS Minister, Tracey Crouch MP (Con), Shadow Digital Minister, Chi Onwurah MP (Lab), Dr Dan Poulter MP (Con), Cat Smith MP (Lab) and David Duguid MP (Con). In his responses, Mr Warman repeated the Government’s 2025 commitment to gigabit broadband, the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and the Universal Service Obligation to be in place by March 2020.

Warman also highlighted that following the questions, he was heading to No. 10 to meet broadband providers and will shortly be meeting Paul Wheelhouse MSP (the Scottish Parliament’s Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands) to address how the Government can help the Scottish Government deliver the R100 Scheme without further delays. Full text can be found here.

Parliamentary Questions on connectivity

Matt Warman responded to written questions from Alan Brown MP (SNP), Edward Timpson MP (Con), Dr Luke Evans MP (Con) and Damian Hinds MP (Con) on Broadband and Mobile Phones in Rural Areas. He highlighted that the Government’s £200m Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme is supporting gigabit broadband rollout in rural areas and have pledged £5bn for Gigabit broadband in the ‘hardest to reach’ areas. The Minister also repeated the Government’s in-principle support for the Mobile Network Operators’ Shared Rural Network proposal, which aims to increase 4G mobile overage to 95% by 2025.

He also stated that a response to the EFRA’s report on rural connectivity would be released when the committee is reformed. ISPA responded to this consultation last year, the full response can be found here.

Parliamentary Question on 5G Health Hazards

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jo Churchill MP, responded to a written question from Martyn Day MP (SNP) as to whether the precautionary principle will be applied to the roll out of 5G in the UK. The Under-Secretary responded that Public Health England provides protection advice and information on the research which has been conducted into the impact of exposure to radio waves including for 5G networks. Full text can be found here.

NFU call for the government to priorities rural broadband and mobile coverage

Having published their annual survey into mobile and broadband coverage, the NFU Vice President, Stuart Roberts, has argued that the ‘two-tier system of haves and have nots’ is completely unacceptable. Mr Roberts maintains that fast and reliable access to the internet is not only essential for business but is also important for farmers safety and mental health. Consequently, the NFU will continue to campaign for investment into rural digital infrastructure to enable farming and rural businesses to meet their potential and help tackle climate change. Full text can be found here.

Online Safety

NSPCC estimates on cybercrimes against children

The NSPCC have estimated that more than 25,300 child abuse image and sexual grooming offences have occurred since the Online Harms White Paper was published. The estimate is based on police recorded crime data, which estimates that an average of 1 online abuse offence against a child was recorded every 16 minutes in England and Wales. With this in mind, they argue that 90 offences take place a day. Andy Burrows, NSPCC Head of Child Safety Online Policy said, ‘the Prime Minister must confirm plans to press ahead with a comprehensive Duty of Care, and urgently introduce an Online Harms Bill that will deliver a well-resourced regulator with the powers to take on big tech’.

APPG on Social Media will work with the IWF

Chris Elmore MP, Chair of the Social Media APPG has announced that the group will work with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) on an inquiry into the increase in reports of online child sexual abuse material. Susie Hargreaves OBE, CEO of the IWF said: ‘We look forward to working with Chris Elmore on the inquiry, and providing our world-leading expertise on this issue.’ Jacob Rees-Mogg also said the Government is taking the issue seriously and will work with the IWF on its inquiry. Full text can be found here.

Online Harms Reduction Regulator (Report) Bill

The Private Members Bill, introduced by Lord McNally, which will seek to assign certain functions to Ofcom in relation to online harms regulation, had its first reading on Tuesday. The Bill currently states that Ofcom should prepare and publish a report, within a year of coming into law, containing recommendations for the introduction of an Online Harms Reduction Regulator. This must include recommendations to ensure both service users and those who are not users, are free from harm. The report must also include recommendations for matters which relate to the online service operators’ duty.The second reading is yet to be scheduled.

IWF partners with the Marie Collins Foundation

The IWF and Marie Collins Foundation are calling on young men to report any sexual images or videos that they see while browsing online that look like they may feature an under 18. The charities are promoting a series of online films to educate viewers on the law and how to anonymously report the images or videos of concern. In the UK, an individual can be prosecuted for taking, making, sharing and possessing sexual images of under 18s, even if they thought that the person featured looked older. Full text can be found here.

DCMS Questions on social media

Damian Collins MP (Con), who served as Chair of the DCMS Select Committee prior to the 2019 election, asked a question to DCMS Ministers, stressing the importance of big companies doing more to protect people from online harm and that the process should be overseen by an independent regulator. He asked the DCMS Minister, Nigel Adams MP, whether the Government would respond to the Online Harms White Paper and if a Government Bill would be introduced in this parliament. The Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to online safety and asserted that the bill was being brought forward as soon as possible. Full text can be found here.

Social Media: Written Question

Responding to a question from Dr Matthew Offord MP (Con) on the accuracy of content loader information on social media, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport reminded Dr Offord that the Government published the Online Harms White Paper in April 2019 which ‘will ensure companies have appropriate systems and processes in place to deal with harmful content on their services to keep their users safe’.

Data Protection

Question on adoption of the EU copyright directive

Responding to a question from Kerry McCarty MP (lab) on the EU copyright directive, the Minister of State for Sport, Media and Creative Industries agreed to consider the directive, but did not commit to its adoption into UK law.

Subgroups

Broadband Subgroup

The Broadband Subgroup will meet at 3-4.30pm on Tuesday 21st January at ISPA’s Offices in London. The meeting will be used to discuss the consultations recently published by Ofcom on the EECC and Market review, as well as lobbying on the Wayleaves Bill following its introduction to Parliament last week. For more information, or to attend the subgroup please contact Emma (Emmas@ispa.org.uk).

Other

Tech UK: A Vision for UK Digital Trade Policy

The report highlights five principles for the UK’s digital trade policy: data; tariffs; intellectual property rights (including liability protections); regulatory cooperation/non-tariffs barriers; and trade facilitation. Full report here.

Government’s five key technology polices

On Wednesday, Baroness Morgan spoke to the Tech Talent Charter and laid out the Government’s five key principles to ensure a technology driven, thriving economy which benefits the whole population. The key principles are:

Alongside legislative proposals to support a faster rollout of 5G, especially in rural areas, Baroness Morgan endorsed investment into digital skills to support adults gaining digital qualifications and encourage underrepresented groups to take on digital roles. Additionally, the Secretary of State promoted pro-innovation regulation and reaffirmed the pledge to invest £1.9bn through the National Cyber Security Strategy to protect the nation online. This will be supported through the development of a new public cyber security campaign due to be launched early on in 2020.

A free and open Internet is the Governments fifth key principle which commits to opposing those that want to bring the management of the Internet under inter-governmental control. It also pushes for the UK to remain a global champion for human rights online and to capitalise on the UK’s internationally respected regulators, standards and expertise, to influence the international agenda.

The Full script can be found here.

ISPA Events

Parliament and Internet Conference – 27th February 2020

Now in its 14th year, the all-day Conference will once again bring together over 200 senior representatives from Government, parliament, academia, and industry to discuss the most pressing policy issues facing the Internet.

The event is hosted by Vicky Ford MP on Thursday 27th February at Portcullis House in London from 9am-5pm.

The conference includes various keynote speeches and three panel sessions:

Tickets are by invitation only, if you would like to attend, please contact team@parliamentandinternet.org.uk

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