The Online Safety Bill will make the UK the safest place to go online and I am glad that the Bill is continuing to progress through Parliament.
On 5 December 2022, MPs agreed to recommit certain Clauses and Schedules of the Online Safety Bill to a Public Bill Committee. This took place in mid December 2022 and the Bill completed its stages in the House of Commons on 17 January 2023. It completed its stages in the House of Lords on 6 September 2023, and has now returned to the Commons with amendments.
There is a clear need to better protect children online. Recent research from Ipsos has shown that 83 per cent of people think social media companies should have a duty to protect children who are using their platforms (only 4 per cent disagree).
I will continue to closely follow the progress of the Bill.