DON’T BLAME KIDS
Tougher rules, not bans, key to online safety, says charity
TEENAGERS should not be punished with smartphone and social media bans due to the failings of tech firms, the NSPCC has warned.
Its chief executive Sir Peter Wanless said children’s voices are “glaringly absent” from debates on online safety.
He urged politicians and parents not to forget the benefits of a safe online world. Writing in the Mirror, he calls for tough consequences if social media giants fail to enforce age limits and stop algorithms bombarding the young with harmful content.
He said: “Young people want to be able to access the benefits of the online world safely. Blanket bans would punish them for failures of tech companies to adopt safety by design.” It came as Tory MP Miriam Cates led a debate in Westminster on the impact of phones and social media.
She has previously called to ban them for under-16s and said yesterday: “They are making our children sadder, sicker and more stupid.”
Tech Minister Saqib Bhatti said that it is vital to “protect children while allowing them to reap the benefits of safe internet use”.
Ian Russell, dad of Molly Russell, 14, who took her own life after viewing harmful content online, told the Mirror last week: “We don’t listen enough to what children want.” Regulator Ofcom has published draft guidance for social media firms.
Ban would punish kids for the failures of tech firms
SIR PETER WANLESS NSPCC CHIEF EXECUTIVE