PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Tackling online harm to children with a duty of care regulator (13 January 2020)

That this House notes the publication of the Online Harms White Paper in April 2019 and subsequent assurances by the Government that they will introduce a robust regulator to safeguard children online; further notes that over 45,000 people signed the NSPCC’s Wild West Web petition calling for statutory regulation so that social networks have a legal duty of care to protect every child from abuse online; and notes the urgent need for Government action as data obtained by the NSPCC shows that over the last year an average of 11 child sexual offences occurred each day over just three commonly-used social network platforms; notes that the Home Office estimates that 80,000 adults in the UK poses a sexual threat to children online; recognises that due to the pressing need for change and the time it would take to set up a new regulator that an interim regulator should be appointed to fill the regulatory gap while more long-term measures are being put in place; and calls on the Government to bring in legislation as promised to assign a duty of care regulator to keep children safe online as a matter of urgency, and, in the interim, to support Lord McNally's Private Member's Bill, introduced on 14 January 2020 into the House of Lords, which instructs Ofcom to start preparing for the new regime.

Sponsored by:
Jo Stevens (Labour)