The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats has hit out at Sir Keir Starmer’s proposed legislation for online safety, branding it a “mess”.
Speaking to GB News, Daisy Cooper declared that the Online Safety Bill is a “dog’s breakfast” piece of legislation which was “really badly put together”.
Pushing forward with his plans to ban social media for under-16s, the Prime Minister called on big tech companies operating in the UK to introduce device controls that prevent children from sending and receiving explicit images.
In a speech at London Tech Week yesterday, Sir Keir said: “For too long, people have been told that is simply the price of modern tech, that nothing can be done, that Government is powerless, that parents just have to accept it.
“I reject that completely, because tech should adapt to the needs of society, not the other way around.”
Discussing Labour’s policies on GB News, Ms Cooper argued that the Prime Minister is only “thinking of his legacy” as he is “on his way out”.
She said: “I think our Prime Minister is probably on his way out. He’ll be thinking about his legacy, and I think he’s got a very simple question to ask himself. Whose side is he on?
“Is he on the side of British parents and children who need to be protected online, or is he on the side of Elon Musk and Donald Trump?”
Ms Cooper added: “We haven’t seen the details of what the Government are proposing, and we will look at those details when we can see them.
“But quite frankly, we need a Government, we need a Prime Minister that can stand up to the big tech giants.”
As host Mark White argued that the latest announcement by Sir Keir is a “bold announcement without any substance”, the Lib Dem MP agreed.
She responded: “Yes, you’re right, the Online Safety Bill was an absolute dog’s breakfast piece of legislation. It was really, really badly put together. It’s better that we have it than don’t have it, but it was a really poor process.
“And there’s a reason why it took years for it to pass, because it was so poorly, poorly drafted by the last Conservative Government. So there are major failings with this piece of legislation.”
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Admitting she has a “degree of sympathy” for Labour for inheriting what the Tories left, Ms Cooper told GB News: “The Online Safety Bill should not have been such a mess, but we are where we are.
“And the reality is that we have got these appalling situations of children being able to see these images, and I think people want to see some action to protect children whilst protecting free speech.”
Asked for her verdict on Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s pledge to overhaul equality laws to stop people getting “preferential treatment”, Ms Cooper argued that she has “fundamentally misunderstood what the public sector duty is about”.
Ms Cooper explained: “We won’t welcome this for two reasons. The first, I think she’s fundamentally misunderstood what the public sector duty is about. It’s not about preferential treatment at all, it’s making sure there is equality of opportunity.
“And the second thing is, I find it absolutely remarkable that on a day like today, where women are making accusations about how they were treated in the workplace by a powerful man, on a day where we’ve got stories about how vulnerable and disabled people have been exploited in their homes.
“That this is the day when the leader of the Conservative Party says that actually marginalised groups don’t need anybody, don’t need these kind of protections in the workplace. I think this is real kind of dog whistle stuff.”
Criticising the Tories further, Ms Cooper concluded: “I think it’s pretty desperate from a really sad Conservative party.
“This seems to have nothing to say on the cost of living people’s energy bills, improving the NHS, any of those kinds of issues, the issues that we Liberal Democrats are focused on.”
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