Online grooming in Merseyside more than triples in wait for safety law update
The long-awaited bill has faced repeated delays and amendments
In the six years since the Online Safety Bill was proposed, online grooming crimes have been recorded across the country, with Merseyside responsible for over 1,000.
243 cases have been recorded in 2022/23, compared to 70 in 2017/2018.
The long-awaited bill has faced repeated delays and amendments but is expected to become law in the autumn.
The legislation would place tougher expectations on major tech companies to keep young users safe.
Whilst they are in full support of the incoming changes, the NSPCC also want assurances that the bill will regulate new technologies like artificial intelligence.
Local Campaigns Manager for the NSPCC, Mubashar Khaliq, stresses the importance of internet regulation:
“It’s sites and apps that are more popular with children that are exploited most by offenders: apps like Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok etcetera. But these companies have the most resources and have delayed doing what is needed to make their product safe for our children for far too long.
"The NSPCC first called for social media regulation in 2017 and now, six years later, child sexual abuse doubles.
"So, MPs must work together to vote through strong new laws that compel tech companies to finally get their house in order. Children and families should not be paying the price.”
Mr Khaliq also highlighted the importance of educating children and parents on safe social media use:
"Be conscious and be mindful of who you are connecting to, who you are chatting to, who you are adding as friends on these platforms. Another key message would be around being mindful and conscious of what you share. Once something has been shared, there’s an element of control that young people are losing, because things can quite easily be forwarded on and then become viral.
"The online safety world is a really important part of our children’s world…So I think it’s really important for parents to be really hands on and start engaging with children in a proactive manner."
Parliament is preparing to finish debating on the Online Safety Bill when summer recess ends in a few weeks.
The NSPCC recommends that any children or parents with concerns regarding online safety contact the NSPCC helpline or refer to their online safety hub on the NSPCC website.