MPs urge clarity on ‘costly’ new Online Safety Bill scrutiny

The DCMS committee has welcomed government action on proposals put forward in its report on the draft Online Safety Bill but called for clarity on whether there are plans for a “costly” new joint committee to scrutinise the legislation.

The official government response, published today, accepts eight of the committee’s key recommendations, which have also been reflected in changes to the Bill which was presented to Parliament last week. The government has also welcomed the committee’s conclusions and recommendations in many other areas.

In line with the committee’s recommendation, the response from the government also explicitly states that it “will not be supporting the establishment of a permanent joint committee on Digital Regulation”. The committee will however be writing to the DCMS department for clarification following comments made this morning by the Secretary of State in the House of Commons.

DCMS committee Chair Julian Knight MP said: “This response from the government shows that the committee’s expert pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill has been instrumental in bringing about changes which will have a tangible effect in making the online environment safer for all. We now have a Bill that is in much better shape than when it was first published.

“We are pleased that the government has taken the opportunity to explicitly put on record its opposition to establishing a new joint committee on digital regulation. With no support at the top of government, the proposal should be dead in the water. It is therefore puzzling in the least that the Secretary of State has this morning gone out on a limb and suggested it could still be on the cards and brought in by the back door.

“It would be a completely unnecessary and costly step given that our committee has consistently proven its worth in this area and we will be writing to the Department for urgent clarification.”

Among the accepted recommendations are the strengthening of Parliament’s role in designating what constitutes legal but harmful content and the need for more detail about the measures service providers should take to prevent uses encountering illegal content.