Political Monitor 24/01/2020

24 January 2020

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Broadband

Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill Debate

The Telecoms Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill was read for a second time this week, introduced by Digital Minister, Matt Warman MP. At a high level, the debate focussed on many aspects of broadband provision and roll out, including new builds and mobile provision.

Warman was clear that the Government saw the Bill as the “first hammer blow to the barriers preventing the deployment of gigabit connectivity”, with gigabit broadband to remain “one of the Government’s key priorities”.

Shadow Digital Minister, Chi Onwurah MP, responded calling on the Government to go further with the Bill, and for the Government to require shared access to building infrastructure the tribunal to ensure retail competition for those in MDUs and used the example of France where this is the case.

One intervention from Flick Drummond MP (Con) mentioned the extension of the Bill to include access to business parks but there was no mention of expanding the Bill to third party land. However, Warman did note that the Government were open to strengthening the Bill and praised the cross-party support for the Bill from the opposition benches.

The full text can be found here.

CMA publish update to Loyalty Penalty work

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have published an update on their work from 2018 in which they responded to a “super complaint” led by Citizens Advice against utility providers use of the so called “loyalty penalty”. The update covers the progress made by regulators across telecoms, insurance and banking.

In telecoms, the CMA report highlights the end of contract notifications which come into effect from 15^th February 2020 as well as voluntary commitments from the industry, where some providers have promised to carry out annual price reviews for vulnerable customers, and others have reduced the difference between new and re-contracted customers. The CMA calls for further action in this regard and cites “further work” Ofcom is planning in the coming months to address this.

Parliamentary Questions on 2025 Broadband targets

In response to a written question from Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (Lab), Matt Warman MP, the Minister for Broadband, repeated the Government’s ambition to bring full fibre and gigabit capable broadband to every home and business across the UK by 2025.

Parliamentary Questions on regional broadband infrastructure

A number of Parliamentary Questions were asked around regional funding of broadband, including:

• Replying to Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth’s question on infrastructure plans in Wales, Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist highlighted the Government’s allocation of £69 million for the rollout of superfast broadband across Wales and the £200 million allocation for the hardest to reach areas, which includes Wales. She also emphasised the £8 million award to North Wales, from the Local Fibre Networks Challenge Fund and the Government’s commitment to deliver better connectivity for commuters across south-west Wales and increase opportunities in the region.
• Northern Ireland Secretary, Julian Smith MP, responded to Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP on broadband in Northern Ireland and explained the Government’s commitment of £1bn to Northern Ireland, of which £763m has so far been released.

Parilamentary Question on Solihull Broadband

Answering Julian Knight MP at PMQs, Mr Johnson highlighted that he had chaired a meeting with broadband providers during the week and was committed to delivering gigabit broadband with £5bn going into the programme by 2025. Having served on the DCMS Select Committee for three years Mr Knight also announced this week that he is standing to be the committee chairman.

Online Safety

Parliamentary Question on Social Media

Baroness Barran responded to a written question  from Lord Taylor of Warwick on whether social media platforms adequately monitor for harmful and illegal content. In her response, Baroness Barran highlighted the publication of the Online Harms White Paper in April 2019 and the Government’s proposals to establish a new statutory duty of care overseen by an independent regulator. This will ensure companies have systems and processes to keep their users safe.

Age appropriate design: a code of practice for online services

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published an Age Appropriate Design Code, which online services should meet to protect children’s privacy. It sets out 15 standards of age appropriate design, with a focus on providing default settings that best protect children accessing online services. The code will apply to “information society services likely to be accessed by children” in the UK, not just those that are aimed specifically at children. While it does not refer to online marketplaces in particular, it mentions apps, search engines, social media platforms and websites offering other goods or services to users.

Companies that make services likely to be accessed by a child will have to abide by the standards laid out in the code, with notable examples including:

• A requirement to default privacy settings to high, unless there is a compelling reason not to;
• Orders to switch off geolocation by default, and to turn off visible location tracking at the end of every session;
• A requirement on sites to uphold their stated terms, policies and community standards. Terms and conditions should be in clear language suited to the age of the child.
• Provide prominent and accessible tools to help children exercise their data protection rights and report concerns.

The ICO will be tasked with enforcing the new rules after they pass through the Parliamentary process, but will allow a one-year transition period for companies to make the necessary changes. After this, companies that break the law can face sanctions comparable to those under GDPR, including fines of up to £17m or 4% of global turnover.

Cyber Security

CLRNN calls for reform to Computer Misuse Act

The Criminal Law Reform Now Network (CLRNN), a group of academics, supported by the cyber security industry, have published a report calling for the reform of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. The independent report, which will be launched formally in Parliament, recommends that the offences are better tailored to other UK obligations, and ensuring consistency with data protection legislation.

Parliamentary Questions on the use of Huawei in 5G infrastructure

A number of questions were asked around the UK’s decision to allow Huawei access to the 5G infrastructure market, including:

• Responding  to Lord Taylor of Warwick, Baroness Barran stressed the importance of UK telecoms security and highlighted the Government’s review of the telecoms supply chain to ensure the security and resilience of 5G and fibre in the UK. The Review proposed new and strengthened security framework for telecoms and considered the use of high-risk vendors in UK telecoms networks. She concluded that the UK is not considering options that would risk national security or intelligence sharing.
• FCO Minister, Christopher Pincher MP responded to Andrew Rosindell MP and also highlighted the Telecoms Supply Chain Review. He said that no decision had yet been made on individual high-risk vendors and that security is of paramount importance. He also wrote that there will be continued engagement with the US and other partners on the issue.

Ofcom

Making communications markets work well for customers

Ofcom made a policy statement which describes their framework for assessing fairness in broadband, mobile, home phone and pay TV. The document is intended to serve as a guide to providers and others about how Ofcom think about the multi-faceted issue of fairness where it arises in communications markets. The statement summarises the main points Ofcom received in response to the discussion paper they issued in June 2019. In applying their framework, Ofcom will consider questions including, the impact on customer journeys, clarity of information, effect on vulnerable customers and the cost or risk of investment.

Other

EU relations and impact on data, cyber security, fake news and online harms

DCMS Minister, Baroness Barren responded to Lord Clement-Jones on data transfer, cyber security, fake news and online harms. On cyber security, Barren said that the Political Declaration sets out that the agreement to exchange information between the UK and EU will continue. With regards to data transfers, she explained that data will flow freely between the UK and the EU during the Implementation Period. There is commitment to adopt adequacy decisions, an established mechanism to allow the free flow of personal data to countries outside the EU by the end of December 2020. On fake news and online harms Barron highlighted the Online Harms White Paper which includes proposals to counter fake news and discrimination. Lord Clement-Jones also wrote separately on the matter of Data Protection and received a similar response.

ISPA Events

Parliament and Internet Conference – 27^th 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:  

• Working together to build and deliver world class communications infrastructure with Openreach
• Regulating the digital world of the future with Sky
• Securing networks and adapting to emerging cyber threats with Raytheon

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

To find out more about the event, please visit http://parliamentandinternet.org.uk/

Registration for the 2020 ISPA Awards closes on 31st January

The prestigious ISPA Awards represent and reward the breadth of the UK ISP sector and winners are determined over a rigorous six-month process that includes technical testing and deliberation by an expert judging panel. The ISPAs are a widely recognised awards throughout the industry, a nomination as a finalist or winner is a fantastic way to promote your company and reward your hard work!

The ISPA Awards are free to enter and open to all providers of internet services. To enter, companies must register with thinkbroadband here by 31st January 2020. Companies must then submit written entry forms by 27th March 2020, with ISPs and hosting entrants undergoing technical testing between 1st February and 31st March 2020.
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