Internet: Children
Lindsay Roy MP: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to assist children to use the Internet safely. [52843]
Mr Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries: (holding answer 28 April 2011] The protection of children from illegal and harmful content when online is an absolute priority for this Government. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) brings together over 170 organisations including Government Departments such as the Department for Education, the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, children's charities, law enforcement and academia. UKCCIS members are committed to working together to help keep children and young people safe online.
The UK has a very successful model of industry-led self-regulation. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) works closely with internet service providers to ensure that webpages which provide access to images of child abuse, including those hosted outside of the UK, are reported and removed or blocked at source. Government are also working closely with industry as part of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety to improve many aspects of children's digital safety.
In addition, I hosted a discussion in February with internet service providers, UKCCIS, the IWF and other interested groups to look at how parental controls can be further improved. A further discussion has been arranged to look at progress on this issue in May this year.
Source: Hansard 3 May 2011 
