Speeches by Clark.

“I was about to come to the point that the right hon. and learned Member raised about the digital regulation Committee. I have had a brief conversation with him about that, and agree about the importance of parliamentary scrutiny of the implementation of the Online Safety Act. I welcome the expertise that Members of bot…”

“Ofcom has had to spend a long time consulting on the codes to ensure that they are as proofed against judicial review as possible. Any re-consultation or review of the codes will result in a delay, and the best way to ensure that we can protect children is to implement the Act as soon as possible. My hon. Friend referr…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) for securing this debate on the implementation of the Online Safety Act. I know that he has been following the Bill throughout its passage and has been a critic of eve…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for strongly advocating for her constituency in Medway to become an AI growth zone. She will well know that the “AI Opportunities Action Plan” outlines the steps we are taking so that the UK can build the cutting-edge computer infrastructure needed to lead in AI development and deployment. I eage…”

“As detailed in the “AI Opportunities Action Plan”, artificial intelligence growth zones will help to secure the UK’s position as a global leader in AI, ensuring that benefits are felt across the whole of the UK. My hon. Friend will be pleased to hear that on Monday we invited local and regional authorities along with t…”

“The hon. Member will have seen the AI opportunities action plan, which sets out our aspiration for this country, including the opportunities for small businesses. The fusion of AI across the economy is top of the agenda. In the coming months, she will see more activity on how we will do that.”

“I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. Businesses across the country should be able to connect, especially in this day and age. If the business in her constituency continues to experience problems, my hon. Friend the Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms will be happy to meet her to discuss this issue further.”

“The right hon. and learned Member will know that there is an ongoing consultation looking at clarifying the copyright and AI issues. There will be a speech this afternoon on the Data Bill that will cover the issue in more detail. As he will also know, the consultation ends on 25 February, after which we will review its…”

“It is right that not only do we need to have good online access to services, but businesses need to be able to connect to those services, and that is why the Government are committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity coverage by 2030. I am glad to say that over 94% of premises in her constituency can access…”

“No one anywhere in the UK should have difficulty using Government services, and the Government are committed to ensuring that our online and digital services are as accessible as possible. There are globally recognised standards for digital accessibility, but they are only part of the design of an inclusive service, wh…”

“The comments made by the hon. Member for Aberdeen North are absolutely outrageous, but I would not expect anything less from the SNP. I have made it very clear that I will share legal advice with Members. I also made it clear that the small but risky sites that Members have been talking about were raised by the Secreta…”

“Although I thank the hon. Member for his contribution, I am sure that he will appreciate that this issue has been looked into and discussed in debates and with officials. With that, I commend these regulations to the Committee.”

“I am going to proceed. I think I have covered the main points raised by hon. Members. I hope that the Committee agrees with me on the importance of enacting these thresholds and implementing the Online Safety Act as swiftly as possible. I made it clear that Ofcom has set up a taskforce that will review the small but ri…”

“I will again set out what the Secretary of State’s powers are. The Government have considered the suggestion of Baroness Morgan and others to categorise small but risky based on the coroner or Ofcom linking a service to a death. The Government were grateful for that suggestion. However, there were issues with that appr…”

“The legislation allows the Secretary of State to deviate from Ofcom’s advice and to publish a statement explaining why. However, the core consideration for category 1 under schedule 11 is—I repeat for the third time—how easily, quickly and widely regulated user-generated content is disseminated by means of a service. A…”

“I am going to make some progress. On livestreaming, Ofcom considered that functionality, but concluded that the key functionalities that spread content easily, quickly and widely are content recommender systems and forwarding or resharing user-generated content. Services accessed by children must still be safe by desig…”

“I think the hon. Member missed it when I said that, as things stand, the Secretary of State does not have the power to include them. It is not about removing them; it is about not having the powers to include them, as things stand, at the moment. I will conclude. In extreme cases, Ofcom, with the agreement of the court…”

“Sorry, I have lots of points to cover. If I have not covered the hon Member’s concerns in my response, she is more than welcome to intervene later. These small but risky services are of significant concern to the Government, and they will still have to protect against illegal content and, where relevant, content that i…”

“I thank all Members for their very powerful contributions to the debate. This instrument will bring us one step closer to a safer online world for our citizens. It is clearer than ever that it is desperately needed: transparency, accountability and user empowerment matter now more than ever. The Opposition spokesperson…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025. Thank you for coming to save the day, Sir Christopher; it is an honour to serve under your chairmanship. These regulations were laid before Parliament on 16 …”