Social media giants told by UK: Block adult content or face fines
UK HEALTH secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned social media giants they will be punished if they do not stop children from seeing adult content on their sites.
In a strongly worded letter to tech giants including Facebook and Instagram, he accused them of ‘turning a blind eye’ to the harm being done to ‘a whole generation of children’.
Mr Hunt said social media sites could be hit with heavy fines unless they work out how to stop pre-teens from seeing adult material.
Mr Hunt says he has been angered by the lack of action since he called in industry executives for a summit last November. In the letter, he also warned them that if they were unwilling to change, the British government ‘will not be deterred from making progress’.
He said he had been alarmed by growing evidence that allowing children to access such sites on their phones, tablets or laptops was exposing them to cyberbullying and damaging their mental health. Mr Hunt has now asked the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Sally Davies, to examine links between underage internet use and depression and anxiety.
It could lead to new British government advice on the amount of screen time children should be exposed to – similar to the recommended number of weekly alcohol units. He has now urged the tech giants to come up with solutions to the problems of age verification, screen time limits and cyber-bullying by the end of the month. Responding to Mr Hunt’s remarks, Facebook said: ‘We share his ambition to create a safe and supportive environment for young people online.’