Written questions by Eastwood.

Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on protecting children and young people online.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of self-assessments provided by social media companies on risks of hosting suicide, self-harm and depression-related content in the context of Ofcom’s recent analysis of platform risk.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of Ofcom’s effectiveness in responding to harmful suicide, self-harm and depression-related content online.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.

Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Ofcom's performance in enforcing the Online Safety Act 2023.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring appropriate safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties where necessary.Suicide devastates families, which is why we have made self-harm content a priority offence under the Act, ensuring platforms must take proactive action. Ofcom has our full backing to use all its powers, including information notices, fines and, if necessary, business disruption measures to protect people online.Ministers and officials meet Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through a joint evaluation programme.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77809, whether her Department's report into the impact of smartphones and social media on children will be published before the end of 2025.

The department is developing the evidence base around children’s online safety, to ensure our policy response is informed by the best research.As part of this, DSIT commissioned a feasibility study into research on the impact of smartphones and social media on children. This six-month study considered methods to gather causal evidence of any impact and reviewed existing research. It was led by expert researchers from UK universities. We will publish the feasibility study report in due course.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure .eu and .ie domain registration systems recognise Northern Ireland as an eligible territory.

The eligibility criteria are not the responsibility of the UK Government, and we have made no such steps.

Innovation and Technology, what conversations her Department has had with Ofcom regarding the use of powers under section 121 of the Online Safety Act to detect child sexual abuse and exploitation in private messaging services.

DSIT is working closely with Ofcom on issues related to the Online Safety Act, including the implementation of Technology Notice powers under section 121. These powers can and should be used to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse content shared in private messages.As part of this work, Ofcom ran a consultation on minimum standards of accuracy for accredited technology and draft guidance for providers, which closed in March 2025. Ofcom will publish their advice to the Secretary of State by April 2026.

Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the NSPCC's report, Tools to Combat Online Harms, published in November 2025.

We welcome the NSPCC’s recent report and are grateful for their longstanding work to improve the evidence base on children’s experiences online. We share concern at the troubling findings and remain committed to protecting children online.The data within the report predates the Online Safety Act’s child safety duties coming into force, which provide significant mitigations against the harms highlighted by the NSPCC. The government’s focus remains on implementing the Act’s protective measures, and we are actively monitoring its impact and effectiveness. We will continue to engage with emerging evidence to ensure that any future government interventions are proportionate and evidence based.

Innovation and Technology, if she will meet the Chief Medical Officer to discuss the potential merits of raising the digital age of consent.

In December 2024 DSIT commissioned a feasibility study into research to understand the impact of smartphones and social media on children. The report will be published in due course.The government keeps all legislation under review and engages regularly with experts – including Chief Scientific Advisors - to gather evidence of where updates are needed. The government has not proposed changes to digital age of consent or a consultation on this, at this stage.Where there is evidence that more needs to be done to protect children online the government will not hesitate to act.

Innovation and Technology, when her Department plans to complete the feasibility study on the potential impact of (a) smartphone and (b) social media use on children’s wellbeing.

In December 2024 DSIT commissioned a feasibility study into research to understand the impact of smartphones and social media on children. The report will be published in due course.The government keeps all legislation under review and engages regularly with experts – including Chief Scientific Advisors - to gather evidence of where updates are needed. The government has not proposed changes to digital age of consent or a consultation on this, at this stage.Where there is evidence that more needs to be done to protect children online the government will not hesitate to act.

Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to hold a public consultation on her Department's proposed changes to the digital age of consent.

In December 2024 DSIT commissioned a feasibility study into research to understand the impact of smartphones and social media on children. The report will be published in due course.The government keeps all legislation under review and engages regularly with experts – including Chief Scientific Advisors - to gather evidence of where updates are needed. The government has not proposed changes to digital age of consent or a consultation on this, at this stage.Where there is evidence that more needs to be done to protect children online the government will not hesitate to act.

Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the digital age of consent.

In December 2024 DSIT commissioned a feasibility study into research to understand the impact of smartphones and social media on children. The report will be published in due course.The government keeps all legislation under review and engages regularly with experts – including Chief Scientific Advisors - to gather evidence of where updates are needed. The government has not proposed changes to digital age of consent or a consultation on this, at this stage.Where there is evidence that more needs to be done to protect children online the government will not hesitate to act.

Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Medical Officer on the potential merits of raising the digital age of consent.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with a range of experts and stakeholders on issues relating to children’s online safety and wellbeing. While there have been no recent formal discussions with the Chief Medical Officer specifically on the digital age of consent, we will continue to draw on expert advice as we review the evidence in this area.

Innovation and Technology, if he will introduce legislation to improve online safety laws.

The government is committed to working with Ofcom to ensure the Online Safety Act is implemented quickly and effectively.This year we expect users, in particular children, to see notable change in their online experience as the duties come into force. Ofcom is now enforcing the illegal safety duties, and protections for children will follow next month.The government has high expectations for platforms, and nothing is off the table when it comes to keeping children and the public safe. The government has already built on the Act and will continue to do so where required.

Innovation and Technology, what his planned timetable is for his Department's examination of the digital age of consent.

We have added measures to the Data (Use and Access) Bill to strengthen data protection standards for children. Any changes to the age of digital consent would require public consultation.We continue to consider further options for protecting children online and commissioned a feasibility study to further explore the impact of smartphones and social media use on children’s wellbeing to help inform our next steps. We do not have a timetable for completing this work.

Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of raising the digital age of consent.

When Information Society Services, such as social media or live streaming sites, rely on consent to process children’s data, consent is only lawful in respect of children under the age of 13 when parental authority has been granted. The current age of consent was set by Parliament in the Data Protection Act 2018. We will continue to keep the evidence for and against change in this area under review.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the report entitled AI Opportunities Action Plan, published on 13 January 2025, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and (b) Northern Ireland Executive on the implementation of that plan in Northern Ireland.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will achieve our AI ambitions by laying the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability at the frontier. The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology engaged with Northern Ireland’s Ministerial representatives about the Action Plan. We will continue to engage widely as government takes the Action Plan forward.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to shut down online scams related to funeral homes.

Fraud offences are designated as priority under the Online Safety Act, which means that user-to-user and search services in scope of the Act must implement measures to prevent users encountering scams and frauds via their services.Additional duties to have systems and process in place to prevent users from encountering paid-for fraudulent advertising will also apply to Category 1 and 2A services (user-to-user and search services over designated thresholds).These measures are designed to prevent a range of online frauds, including social media scams.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release of 6 October 2024 entitled New government tech deals boost the business of cancer detection, whether (a) that initiative extends to Northern Ireland and (b) people in Northern Ireland will have access to the advancements in cancer detection technology outlined in that initiative.

The cancer detection initiatives announced on 06 October 2024 were part of UK-wide funding calls led by the Office for Life Sciences (OLS), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Northern Ireland companies and universities are engaged in collaborations with the recently announced MANIFEST cancer immunotherapy platform and the National Healthcare Research Hub for Advanced Long-acting Therapeutics. The Government is funding these cancer detection initiatives with a view to these being deployed across the UK, including Northern Ireland.