Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing
Education Committee
HC 118
Published 25 May 2024
Recommendations
28
Accepted in Part
Draw up legislation to regulate AI and protect children's data from operators
Recommendation
The next Government must draw up legislation in the first year of the new Parliament on regulating AI or risk the technology developing faster than legislation can be drawn up to control it, ultimately causing additional harm to children. AI …
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Government Response Summary
The government is developing targeted legislative proposals for powerful AI systems, building on existing voluntary commitments. For children's data, it commits to using secondary legislation to require the ICO to produce a Code of Practice on AI after the Data (Use and Access) Bill receives Royal Assent, which will include guidance on protecting children's data.
Department for Education
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30
Accepted in Part
Para 131
Produce risk assessment on edtech and AI in schools; Ofcom to assess safety
Recommendation
The next Government should produce a risk assessment on the use of edtech and AI in schools as soon as possible, and particularly on the extent to which it poses a risk to the security of children’s data. The safety …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it is ensuring AI products are safe for schools by publishing AI safety expectations and developing teacher guidance, due before academic year 2025-26. DfE is also funding Ofsted to gather insights on AI use and risk mitigation, and providing guidance for schools on protecting data and cybersecurity, but does not commit to a comprehensive government risk assessment or Ofcom's product-level assessment.
Department for Education
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Conclusions (1)
12
Conclusion
Accepted in Part
Para 61
There are over half a million apps claiming to be educational within leading app stores such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, but no quality standards for educational content or design features that apps must align with to be included in the educational category. As a consequence, parents …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the lack of quality standards and is working to improve the evidence base for EdTech products. It has appointed the Chartered College of Teaching to develop criteria for evaluating EdTech effectiveness and has published AI safety expectations, though it states it will not mandate individual products or directly set quality standards for apps in app stores.