How can we improve children's safety online?

I was going to give a speech today, in a debate about children's safety online, but unfortunately, wasn't able to attend the debate because of a diary clash. I though what I was going to say was important, however, so I thought I’d give the speech fireside instead. There’s no formal transcript today because this one hasn’t made it into the formal record, but I’ve copied the text of the speech below.

Adam Thompson MP

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. As a relatively young member of this House at 35, I had access to social media from a young age. I had my first Facebook account at 16, but I had a myspace account and a Bebo account at around 13, and I regularly logged onto MSN messenger after I got home from school. I remember, well, the toxicity that existed on those platforms, but even they were a world away from what children experience online today. The algorithms fuelling those platforms were far more rudimentary than they are now, the content less addictive and the platforms not designed to endlessly hold the attention of the users who frequented them. 

Children’s online safety is an issue that is raised often by my constituents. In Ilkeston, in Long Eaton and across Erewash, parents stop me to talk about the situations of their own children. They tell me about group chats that spiral out of control late at night, about harmful content appearing on phones in bedrooms, about the fear that the online world is shaping their child faster than they can keep up. Improving children’s relationship with mobile phones and social media is not just about cold, distant regulation – it’s a daily concern for the families I represent, and I am very glad the government has similarly prioritised these concerns.

The Online Safety Act is one of the best legislative measures to protect children online taken anywhere in the world, and recent events have shown that it can hold these giant multinational corporations to account. But as the government has been clear, the act lays a foundation and there is further work to do to build on it. Technology evolves rapidly, and Parliament must keep pace.

Last March, in response to the Private Member’s Bill put forward by my honourable friend, the Member for Whitehaven and Workington, the Government recognised that further action was needed. I am pleased that the government is now delivering on that commitment with the three-month consultation on additional protections. I hope this consultation will provide the opportunity for an open and honest conversation, with parents, carers, teachers and children at its heart. I particularly hope that the government is considering the means by which children can be specifically involved and I would welcome the minister’s comments on efforts to do so.

I know that, as part of this work, the government will be examining options including setting a formal minimum age for social media and raising the digital age of consent, so companies cannot make money from children’s data without parents’ permission. I also understand that the government will be considering whether restrictions should extend to AI chatbots and will examine access to features that are children should not have access to, like stranger pairing or live streaming. I commend the government on this work and look forward to the outcomes of the consultation.

I also welcome the planned amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which should allow swift implementation of the consultation’s outcomes through secondary legislation. That means we can act within months, not years, to potentially set age limits, and prevent children from sharing or receiving nude images. I would also like to see the government strengthen protections for bereaved families, ensuring coroners are automatically alerted where online activity may have played a role in a child’s death.

These changes must be about putting children’s safety first. Just as we would never allow unsafe products to be sold on our high streets, we cannot allow unsafe conditions for children on the internet. The same values that guide our commitment to reducing child poverty, strengthening public services and making our streets safe must also apply online.

Every child in Erewash, and across our country, deserves a childhood free from exploitation and fear. If we listen, act decisively and put children before profits for big tech companies, we can create a digital world that reflects the best of our society, not the worst. I urge colleagues on all sides of the House to support that mission.