Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any steps she will take to protect young people online.
Minister of Justice: As Justice Minister, I am committed to doing everything possible to keep our young people safe from harm and protect them from all forms of abuse and exploitation. I am very aware that social media and the use of the internet in general is increasingly central to young people’s lives and can have a very positive effect in terms of communication and learning opportunities, however, it also presents serious risks, particularly around grooming, exploitation and abuse.
While telecommunications, including the making of associated legislation, regulation and oversight is a reserved matter under the remit of the UK Government, the responsibility to keep our children safe online is one we all share. This shared commitment is reflected in the Northern Ireland Executive’s Online Safety Strategy and Action Plan which aims to empower children, young people, parents, carers and professionals to recognise, prevent and respond to online abuse. My department plays an active role in this work with officials contributing to the cross-departmental implementation group responsible for driving forward the delivery of the strategy and ensuring its actions are effectively carried out.
I am committed to progressing legislative reform where I can, to help protect our children and young people from harms associated with online behaviour caused by ever increasing advances in technology. There is already a comprehensive and robust legislative framework in place in Northern Ireland to address a wide range of sexual offending related behaviours which apply both online and offline. This includes new offences I brought forward in the last mandate through the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. However, I continue to look for opportunities where I can strengthen the law further.
I am extending a range of child sexual abuse and exploitation protections of the Westminster Crime and Policing Bill to Northern Ireland, subject to the approval of the Assembly. This includes enhancing the existing possession of a paedophile manual offence, strengthening the sex offender notification requirements and introducing a new offence to address the use of image generating tools.
ENDS
Your MLA 