Speeches by Kendall.

“That is one of the issues that I thought extremely carefully about—it is one of the things that made me unsure as we were going through this. Young people are still able to go online. I think that new resources and new support will be available in different ways that do not meet the model that Australia uses, but I am …”

“It is more complicated than it seems, but in the end, to govern is to choose. There are already strong requirements on companies under the Online Safety Act, as I said, and the fines and potential service blocks are already in the Act. We are developing further measures, but that is how we will hold companies’ feet to …”

“My hon. Friend is right. We are doing what I call “Australia plus plus”: there is the ban on the providers—the platforms providing their services for children—and there is also the ability to deal with additional features and functions. We now have the legislative power to do that, and I hope it will allow us to keep u…”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for her question; she has campaigned tirelessly on this. The model in Australia that we plan to use captures user-to-user platforms that have enabling social interaction as their sole purpose, or a significant purpose, and that allow users to post material, alongside algorithms and recommen…”

“Yes, I agree that the responsibility is on the platforms. They have to continue meeting their obligations under the Online Safety Act, as well as this ban. They have had chances to make their platforms safe, but they have not done so. That is why we are saying, “You can’t provide them to children anymore.””

“It is really important that two things happen. First, there needs to be more support for parents and schools to do what many are already doing: preparing children for a life online. We have had a big national curriculum review, and new measures are coming into place from this September, but there will be more when the …”

“We have a brilliant, fantastic, world-leading gaming industry in this country. That is why we are not including games under the blanket ban. However, I have been really concerned by issues raised not just by hon. Members, but by the police and others, who have shown that a real, substantial risk is posed by strangers w…”

“The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that we are not including things like WhatsApp in this policy. Parents have been clear that they want to be able to contact their children, but we want to block strangers being able to communicate with children. We will be setting out all the details in our regulations, and he k…”

“My hon. Friend is a huge champion, and has pushed hard, for many of these measures and many more besides. The ban links to the device-level interventions we have talked about, but this ban will be for under-16s. It is important that we set that clear limit. On the device proposals, I am very clear that we expect the co…”

“I have to admit that I am not sure whether the hon. Lady is for or against the ban. [Interruption.] She is a Lib Dem, say Members on the Conservative Benches. She asked about the model. In my statement, I said that it is the Australian model. We have learned the lessons, which is why we are focusing on more highly effe…”

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“We are doing this to give greater protections to children and greater clarity to parents and carers, and to set a new social norm for future generations. My intention is to lay before the House regulations on a ban, and to have a vote on them by the end of this year, with the ban coming into effect in early 2027. We pl…”

“This Government believe that Britain’s national interests are strengthened, not diminished, when we work with like-minded countries. That is why next week I will be joining other G7 nations coming together as democracies to discuss how we shape tech and AI to work for all, and why I will be proud to showcase the best o…”

“My hon. Friend is right: follow the money. I am highly aware of that, and we are determined to act. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Digital Government and Data is chairing the digital advertising taskforce, which is a joint effort between this Department and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to look at …”

“Yes, I do agree. We have legislated, and we are prepared to go further. I have already made strangulation and suffocation in porn a priority offence under the Online Safety Act. We are determined to ensure that rules about what happens in online pornography are the same as the rules for what happens offline, and we are…”

“Yes, that is absolutely my objective. I remind the House that our consultation is looking at not just whether there should be a ban on social media for under-16s but a whole range of other issues, including whether platforms should be required to switch off addictive features, whether there should be mandatory overnigh…”

“Not for the first time, and not for the last time, the right hon. Gentleman raises an extremely important issue. He may not be aware that we have made the decisive move to back more British tech companies, because we believe that as artificial intelligence and tech become the engine of economic and hard power, we need …”

“Ensuring that children have healthy and safe lives online is one of my top priorities. From making cyber-flashing and self-harm and suicide content the subject of priority offences under the Online Safety Act 2023 to banning nudification apps and standing up to Grok and X, I will leave no stone unturned to ensure that …”

“We will come forward with proposals before the summer. We have already taken powers in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 to implement the results of that consultation, which I intend to do by the end of the year. In the meantime, we are not waiting. I have taken a number of steps to amend various Acts to gi…”

“I remind the hon. Lady that I have already made it a requirement in law that chatbots must protect users from illegal content. I banned nudification apps, through a new criminal offence. We are requiring platforms to take down non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours, and we are requiring platforms to act faster …”