I rise to echo some of the concerns that have already been expressed by the right hon. Member for Maldon (Mr Whittingdale) about new clause 28. I should say at the outset that, as the parent of two teenagers, I completely understand the motivation of those who have raised these concerns with the Government. I commend them for the way in which they have done so, and, indeed, I commend the Government for responding in the way they have. However, I fear that this is another occasion on which the Government are responding because, as we say,
something must be done. I fear that we are in fact going down a road that will leave us exposed to the law of unintended consequences.
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My primary concern is that, ultimately, the proposed provisions will not be that effective. They are capable of being circumvented pretty easily by any tech savvy 14-year-old. Therefore, where do we strike the balance between the protection offered against the risks that come with it? One of the risks we have not touched on is that of complacency. Seeing such changes being made, parents will think that this problem has been solved and has gone away and that they no longer need to be vigilant in the way they may have been hitherto.
My real concerns centre on the holding of the data. As I put it to the Minister when he was at the Dispatch Box, there are no provisions in the Bill to secure the privacy and anonymity of those using these sites. He said that the data will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act, but as we saw in the Ashley Madison leaks, that was of no great assistance. Let us not forget just exactly what is at stake: as a consequence of that hack and of the information being put into the public domain, a number of people committed suicide. We seem to be treating the symptom rather than the disease, and what would really make the significant changes we all want is better sex and relationships education.