Online Safety Bill (HL Bill 16)

Part 1 Internet services and mobile phones

1 Duty to provide a service that excludes adult content

(1) Internet service providers must provide to subscribers an internet access
5service which excludes adult content unless all the conditions of subsection (3)
have been fulfilled.

(2) Where mobile telephone operators provide a telephone service to subscribers
which includes an internet access service, they must ensure this service
excludes adult content unless all the conditions of subsection (3) have been
10fulfilled.

(3) The conditions are—

(a) the subscriber “opts-in” to subscribe to a service that includes adult
content;

(b) the subscriber is aged 18 or over; and

(c) 15the provider of the service has an age verification scheme which meets
the standards set out in section 2 and which has been used to confirm
that the subscriber is aged 18 or over before a user is able to access adult
content.

(4) In this section, internet service providers and mobile telephone operators shall
at all times be held harmless of any claims or proceedings, whether civil or
criminal, providing that at the relevant time, the internet access provider or the
mobile telephone operator was—

(a) 5following the standards and code set out in section 2; and

(b) acting in good faith.

(5) In this section “opts-in” means a subscriber notifies the service provider of his
or her consent to subscribe to a service that includes adult content.

(6) For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this section prevents providers of
10internet access services and mobile phone operators from providing additional
levels of filtering content.

2 Role of OFCOM

(1) It shall be the duty of OFCOM to set, and from time to time to review and
revise, standards for the—

(a) 15filtering of adult content in line with the standards set out in section 319
of the Communications Act 2003 (OFCOM’s standards code);

(b) age verification schemes to be used under section 1; and

(c) filtering of content by age or subject category by providers of internet
access services and mobile phone operators.

(2) 20The standards set by OFCOM under this section must be contained in one or
more codes.

(3) Before setting standards under subsection (1), OFCOM must publish, in such a
manner as they think fit, a draft of the proposed code containing those
standards.

(4) 25After publishing the draft code and before setting the standards, OFCOM must
consult relevant persons and organisations.

(5) It shall be the duty of OFCOM to establish procedures for the handling and
resolution in a timely manner of complaints about the observance of standards
set under this section.

(6) 30OFCOM must prepare a report for the Secretary of State about the operation of
this Act—

(a) every three years from the date of Royal Assent; and

(b) at the direction of the Secretary of State.

(7) OFCOM may designate any body corporate to carry out the duties of this
35section in whole or in part.

(8) OFCOM may not designate a body under subsection (7) unless, as respects that
designation, they are satisfied that the body—

(a) is a fit and proper body to be designated;

(b) has consented to being designated;

(c) 40has access to financial resources that are adequate to ensure the
effective performance of its functions under this section; and

(d) is sufficiently independent of providers of internet access services and
mobile phone operators.

3 Duty to provide a means of filtering online content

Manufacturers of electronic devices must provide customers with a means of
filtering content from an internet access service at an age appropriate level at
the time the device is purchased.

4 5Duty to provide information about online safety

Internet service providers and mobile telephone operators must provide
prominent, easily accessible and clear information about online safety to
customers at the time the internet service is purchased and shall make such
information available for the duration of the service.

5 10Duty to educate parents about online safety

The Secretary of State for Education must provide means of educating parents
of children under the age of eighteen about—

(a) the exclusion of adult content from an internet access service under
section 1 to protect children;

(b) 15additional online safety measures for electronic devices, including but
not restricted to, age appropriate filters; and

(c) protecting their child from online behaviour that could be a safety risk,
including but not restricted to, bullying and sexual grooming.

6 Interpretation of Part 1

20In this Part—

• “adult content” means an internet access service that contains harmful
  and offensive materials from which persons under the age of eighteen
  are protected;

• “age verification scheme” is a scheme to establish the age of the
  25subscriber;

• “electronic device” means a device that is capable of connecting to an
  internet access service and downloading content;

• “harmful and offensive materials” has the same meaning as in section 3 of
  the Communications Act 2003 (general duties of OFCOM);

• 30“internet access service” and “internet service provider” have the same
  meaning as in section 124N of the Communications Act 2003
  (interpretation);

• “material from which persons under the age of eighteen are protected”
  means material specified in the OFCOM standards under section
  35319(2)(a) of the Communications Act 2003 (OFCOM’s standards code);

• “OFCOM” has the same meaning as in Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the
  Communications Act 2003;

• “online safety” means the safe and responsible use of the internet by
  children and young people on an electronic device;

• 40“subscriber” means a person who receives the service under an agreement
  between the person and the provider of the service; and

• “telephone service” means a service providing calls including voice,
  voicemail and conference and data calls, supplementary services
  including call forwarding and call transfer and messaging and multi-
  45media services including short message services, enhanced media
  services and multi-media services.

Part 2 On-demand programme services

7 Age verification scheme

For section 368E(2) of the Communication Act 2003 (harmful material), there is
5substituted—

“(2) If an on-demand programme service contains harmful and offensive
material from which persons under the age of eighteen are to be
protected, the material must be made available using an age
verification scheme to determine that the person purchasing or
10otherwise obtaining access to the material is not under eighteen.

(3) In this section, “age verification scheme” is a scheme to establish the age
of the person.”

8 Prevention of payments

After section 368I of the Communications Act 2003 (enforcement of section
15368D), there is inserted—

“368IA Enforcement of section 368E of the Communications Act 2003

(1) Where the appropriate regulatory authority determine that material
that falls under section 368E(2) is not being provided in a manner which
prevents persons under the age of eighteen normally seeing or hearing
20it, the appropriate regulatory authority may give a direction under this
section regardless of whether the provider of the service is under the
jurisdiction of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the Audiovisual
Media Services Directive.

(2) A direction under this section may be given to—

(a) 25a particular person operating in the financial sector,

(b) any description of persons operating in that sector, or

(c) all persons operating in that sector.

(3) A direction under subsection (1) may require a relevant person not to
enter into or continue to participate in—

(a) 30a specified transaction or business relationship with a
designated person,

(b) a specified description of transactions or business relationships
with a designated person, or

(c) any transaction or business relationship with a designated
35person.

(4) Any reference in this section to a person operating in the financial
sector is to a credit or financial institution that—

(a) is a United Kingdom person, or

(b) is acting in the course of a business carried on by it in the United
40Kingdom.

(5) In this section—

Online Safety BillPage 5

• “credit institution” and “financial institution” have the meanings
  given in paragraph 5 of Schedule 7 to the Counter-Terrorism
  Act 2008;

• “designated person”, in relation to a direction, means any of the
  5persons in relation to whom the direction is given;

• “relevant person”, in relation to a direction, means any of the
  persons to whom the direction is given.”

9 Extent, commencement and short title

(1) This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

(2) 10This Act comes into force on the day on which this Act is passed.

(3) Sections 1 to 8 of this Act come into force six months after the date on which it
has passed.

(4) This Act may be cited as the Online Safety Act 2014.