Peers urge Government to ‘change course’ on Online Safety Bill

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee has raised concerns over Ofcom’s independence under the proposed Bill.

A House of Lords committee has warned the Online Safety Bill in its current form could undermine Ofcom’s role as an independent regulator (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

The Online Safety Bill in its current form gives too much power to the Culture Secretary and could undermine Ofcom’s role as an independent regulator, a House of Lords committee has warned.

The Lords Communications and Digital Committee has recommended the Government remove or amend several clauses from the proposed internet safety laws that it says give the Culture Secretary the power to direct Ofcom to change the codes of practice used in enforcing the new online safety rules.

The Committee said these powers were “needlessly expansive” and warned they could be used to change codes to reflect the views of the secretary of state.