Priti welcomes new protections against online harms
The Witham MP, Priti Patel, has spoken in support of new laws being brought in to protect children from online harms. During a debate in the House of Commons on the Online Safety Bill on Monday (5th December 2022), Priti raised the importance of protecting children from harmful content, taking action to stop terrorism and serious crime, and more support for victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
Priti also paid tribute to the families who had been campaigning for new laws to hold online service providers to account, supported a new law to make it illegal to encourage self-harm and called for more support for the victims of crime.
Priti said: “The Online Safety Bill is long-awaited and much-needed legislation that updates our laws and regulatory framework so we can tackle the appalling harms and abuses we see take place online. Victims and families have fought hard to get these laws debated and they are a step in the right direction.
“Big tech companies and online service providers need to take seriously their responsibilities to their users and to society and must do more to protect people from illegal, inappropriate and harmful material. We’ve all seen some dreadful and horrific cases where children have been exposed to dangerous content online and criminals and terrorists have also been able to use the internet to hide and plan threats to our interests. These new laws will make a difference and I will continue to scrutinise them and press the Government to ensure they as effective as possible.”