What discussions is the Welsh Government having with the UK Government to ensure that the Online Safety Bill will ensure that the internet is a safer place for everyone, allow the right to freedom of expression online, and ensure that human rights are upheld?
We believe it is very important for people to be safe whilst they are online, and to be protected from online abuse. The UK Government’s Online Safety Bill aims to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online, whilst also ensuring that people can enjoy their right to freedom of expression.
The Bill recognises the need for enhanced protection for children and young people from harmful content online. While ‘internet services’ are a reserved matter, we firmly believe that safeguarding is a shared responsibility for all parties involved and welcome the duties placed upon online providers to take action to remove harmful content and strengthen protection against activities that threaten the safety of children and young people.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) is leading on the introduction of the Online Safety Bill. Welsh Government officials have had regular engagement with their counterparts in DCMS both prior to, and following, the introduction of the Bill. This has involved discussions in relation to the development of the Bill and consultation around priority offences for inclusion. For example, officials have been actively engaged with DCMS about the exemption for Welsh education and childcare providers at paragraph 10 and Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Bill.
More widely, we are monitoring closely the potential implications for human rights in relation to a range of UK Government Bills, including the proposal to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with a Bill of Rights. We are also considering what more we can do to strengthen and advance equality and human rights in Wales, building on research we published last year and the response we issued recently. Our approach will be wide-ranging and online safety is clearly an important aspect.