Member

The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, and other noble Lords, including the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, and the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, asked about the ombudsman issue. Individual user complaints are likely to be complex but also very time sensitive, and it would be unlike other situations in which ombudsmen operate. In addition, the scope of the OSA means that the ombudsman would need to consider whether providers had taken correct decisions about whether to moderate content that was, for example, illegal or harmful to children. However, under the Act, the Secretary of State could bring in an alternative dispute resolution duty or ombudsman service after Ofcom publishes its user redress report. We currently estimate that this report will be published in early 2028. As noble Lords will know, I am a great fan of ombudsman services—