The internet is now an integral part of everyday life across the UK. It can be a great force for good but equally can be misused, leading to harmful outcomes. We cannot ignore the very real harms which people face online every day.

I am delighted that the Queen’s Speech included a commitment to ensure internet safely for all, especially for children. The Online Safety Bill will introduce ground-breaking laws to protect children online and tackle some of the worst abuses on social media, including racist hate crimes. These measures will prioritise online safety while enshrining free speech, ensuring necessary online protections do not lead to unnecessary censorship.

In addition to those already mentioned, Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries has announced extra priority illegal offences to be written on the face of the Bill. Naming these offences on the face of the bill removes the need for them to be set out in secondary legislation, allowing faster enforcement action against tech firms which fail to remove the named illegal content.

These offences include, but are not limited to, revenge porn, hate crime, fraud, weapons offences, the promotion or facilitation of suicide, people smuggling, and incitement to and threats of violence.

The proposals will also make companies more responsible for their users’ safety online. In line with the full Government response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, the Bill will place duties of care on companies. A recent strengthening of the proposed legislation will further ensure that firms are not only forced to remove harmful content that has been reported to them, but must be proactive in preventing people being exposed in the first place.

Ofcom, the UK’s independent communications regulator, will receive the functions and powers to oversee the regulatory regime. Ofcom will set clear safety standards, backed up by mandatory reporting requirements and strong enforcement powers to deal with non-compliance. These powers include issuing fines of up to 10 per cent of annual worldwide turnover to non-compliant sites or blocking them from being accessible in the UK.

Having engaged with the Law Commission on harmful online communications, the Government has acted on recommendations from the Commission's subsequent report. New provisions include the introduction of a harm-based communications offence and an offence for when a person sends a communication they know to be false with the intention to inflict harm. It is my understanding that the Government is also considering the report’s recommendations for specific offences to be created relating to cyberflashing, encouraging self-harm and epilepsy trolling.

Protecting children online from age-inappropriate content can be best achieved through the wider online harms proposals. All sites that publish pornography will be legally required to use a proportionate range of tools, including age assurance and age verification technologies, to ensure their users are 18 years old or over. This will allow a consistent and comprehensive approach to harmful content across different sites and will go further than the Digital Economy Act’s focus on online pornography on commercial adult sites.

Finally, I share the concerns raised about the deliberate targeting of epilepsy sufferers online. I want to reassure you that the targeting of epilepsy sufferers online already constitutes a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Furthermore, as part of the Online Safety Bill, the new duty of care will ensure companies have robust systems and processes in place to tackle illegal content on their services, including tackling online abuse which provokes epilepsy seizures. The Government is considering the Law Commission’s recommendations for specific offences to be created including epilepsy trolling and I will follow developments closely.