Bereaved parents say online safety rules don't go far enough
Hollie Dance, Lisa Keneven and Liam Walsh are among 11 bereaved parents who've written an open letter to Rishi Sunak and Sir Kier Starmer, urging both to pledge to do more for child online safety ahead of the approaching general election.
A group of bereaved parents have warned that the Online Safety Act does not yet go far enough to protect children on social media.
Bereaved Families for Online Safety have sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, urging both to pledge to do more for child online safety ahead of the approaching general election.
The intervention from the parents of 11 children, whose deaths involved social media in some form, comes after Ofcom published its draft children's safety codes of practice, which set out how it expects online services to meet their new legal responsibilities to protect children online under the Online Safety Act.
It will require social media platforms to take action to stop their algorithms recommending harmful content to children, and put robust age-checking measures in place to protect them.
In their letter, the parents say that while this is an "important moment" and they are "grateful" that regulation is "slowly but surely taking shape", they say "much more needs to be done" and they have "so far been disappointed" by the "lack of ambition" around the safety laws, and fear the rapid evolution of technology means that laws and regulation will "need to work hard to keep up".
"We collectively fear that Ofcom's proposed approach may be insufficient to tackle the growing risks of grooming, sexual abuse, content that promotes or facilitates acts of serious violence, and the active incitement of acts of suicide and self-harm among young people," the letter says.
Directly addressing the political leaders, it adds: "In the next Parliament, you will have a decisive opportunity to act. There is a considerable groundswell in demands for more to be done. Across the country, there is a genuine and deeply held concern among parents, and you will be aware of the growing calls for a fundamental reset in the way that technology companies design their products.
"As a senior politician but also as a father, we strongly encourage you to heed those calls and ensure that children's online safety can no longer be considered as an afterthought.
"Put simply, we encourage you to make clear to tech companies they must start to design and build their services in a safe and fundamentally responsible way. If companies are not prepared to do so, they should be made to understand there is no longer be a place for them in the UK."
Meeting the parents
Lisa Keneven told us that her son Issac Keneven "just liked doing boy stuff. Doing challenges back in the day, like the the bottle flip, flossing. It was the the innocent stuff. He was just very, very inquisitive"
Hollie Dance told us that her son Archie Battersby was " an absolutely fearless child, a gymnast, an MMA fighter, and he loved trampolining, anything to do with fitness"
"He was a very, very happy little boy. An amazing personality, brilliant sense of humour".
Recollecting his memories of his daughter Maia-Lena, Liam Walsh told us "she was raucous, vivacious. She had elegance. She was very intelligent. She was 13, but could carry her conversation in the company of adults and peers, right up to her headmaster at school. She embraced her education. She embraced her life."
They've all told us how algorithmic grooming, facilitated by platforms, targets vulnerable users, particularly children, with harmful content.
Liam said: "Liam Walsh: "The online danger is algorithmic grooming and algorithms are where its targeting people in particular."
Addressing the lack of regulation and oversight, Hollie Dance expressed frustration at the slow response to the dangers posed by online platforms.
"It needs a lot harsher approach. It it definitely needs to be taken seriously."
Lisa stressed the importance of trust and communication between parents and children, advocating for safe spaces where children can report concerning content anonymously.
"I just really think it's to be reinforced that they should feel comfortable to actually come to you if they see something they're not feeling comfortable with."
While Liam echoed her sentiments, he also called for a review of outdated regulations governing mobile phone operators and online platforms.
"I would ask for an immediate review of these licences because I do not understand why it's not being publicised, what they are publishing."
As the parents continue to advocate for change, their message is clear: the unchecked proliferation of harmful content online is endangering children's lives. They implore both parents and policymakers to take decisive action to protect the younger generation from the dangers lurking in the digital world.
Official Response
Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said the proposals will result in "big changes" for social media companies and would publicly name those who did not comply.
"They will be responsible for the first time in law for actually looking at their own services, who's using them, what the advantages are of course, but also what the risks are," she said.
"Ofcom is going to be marking their homework and doing so transparently as well so that the public can see the results and the marks that we're giving."
Alice Campbell, head of public affairs at trade body techUK - which represents many of the social media platforms in scope of the Online Safety Act, said: "We welcome this consultation which is an important step forward in the implementation of the Online Safety Act.
"Many in-scope companies have already started to put additional child safety measures in place in anticipation on the Online Safety Act coming into force. However, today's consultation provides important additional detail that in-scope companies will need to engage with.
"We look forward to continuing to work alongside members, Ofcom and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to ensure a robust and effective online safety regime."
Labour's shadow technology secretary Peter Kyle said: "It is welcome to see Ofcom's new proposals for keeping children safe online, including strong age checks and tackling algorithms which target young minds.
"These protections would have been in place years ago if they hadn't fallen victim to Conservative chaos, we cannot forget that the current Business Secretary called the Online Safety Act 'legislating for hurt feelings' during the Tory leadership contest.
"Labour has repeatedly called on the Government to take tougher action and to stop the crucial protections in the Online Safety Act being delayed. A Labour government would work with bereaved families and quickly issue a Statement of strategic priorities for Ofcom which keeps up with new dangers."
The Prime Minister's official spokesman has praised new online safety rules published by Ofcom.
"Today marks a really significant milestone for delivering on the online safety act which will create the foundations to protect our children online for generations to come," he said.
Ofcom have set out practical steps and action that social media will have to take to protect children from seeing harmful content on their sites, he said.
He said the measures include obliging social media companies to complete age checks through ID matching and that, once in place, the changes will "fundamentally shift how children in the UK experience the online world".
"They represent some of the most significant and far-reaching online safety laws anywhere in the world," he said.