We must introduce statutory regulation to protect our children from the online peril

‘‘In the fight for every childhood, it’s time to ensure that keeping children safe online is no longer an optional extra’

Technology has made it possible for children to connect with friends and family from any location, make new friendships and relationships, share opinions and information in less than a second and create videos and share them.

In 2017, half of children aged 12 had at least one social media account. By 15, that figure rises to three quarters. Today’s children don’t see the division between “online” and “offline” worlds. Social media is now a ubiquitous part of childhood, but alongside wonderful opportunities, it brings risks.

It has become a primary medium for child sexual exploitation and abuse. And like all abusive behaviour, online abuse and exploitation takes many forms, from sending a sexual message to a child, to recording or watching child sexual assault. The onus until now has been on social networks to design effective child protections into their platforms. They have failed to do so, and we can now see the consequences of this decade of insufficient action:

 In the last five years, two children, Breck Bednar, 14, and Kayleigh Haywood, 15, have been murdered after being groomed online;

 Over three months in 2017, the Internet Watch Foundation identified 2,082 images and videos of livestreamed child sexual abuse and 98 per cent of images found were of children aged 13 and under;

 One in four young people have been contacted over social media by an adult they don’t know, with a third of these children aged under 13, according to NSPCC and O2 research;  In addition, the NSPCC’S Childline service hears from young people every day about how they are experiencing cyber-bullying, or being faced with pressures like sexting.

Social networking and messaging apps allow predators to immerse themselves into the most intimate aspects of children’s lives. Messages can be exchanged at night, in children’s bedrooms and out of sight of parents, building up feelings of secrecy and intimacy in increasingly exploitative and abusive relationships.

The impact on children being abused in this way can be lifechanging, which makes me even more disturbed by the industry’s reluctance to take decisive action.

Contrary to a perception among some that that online abuse is somehow less damaging, NSPCC research has shown that the impact of “online” and “offline” abuse is the same. Children who have suffered online abuse have reported flashbacks, depression, self-harm, anxiety and self-blame. The impact of losing control of an image online can be particularly damaging for children and young people, as they know the images could be shared or re-viewed at any time without their permission.

For too long, social networks have been allowed to treat child safeguarding as optional. We don’t have the same protections in place online as we do offline, and the result is that children are exposed to unacceptable risks, in the spaces where they socialise, trust, and play.

After years of inadequate action, I am absolutely adamant that now is the time to introduce statutory regulation on social media sites. Thanks to our supporters, the NSPCC’S Wild West Web campaign strengthened the Government’s resolve to act. As a result, Matt Hancock, the Culture Secretary, will bring forward plans for legislation later this year to tackle online harm. Crucially, these proposals will target both inappropriate and illegal acts, including the growing challenge of online grooming.

This is a significant moment. However, the Government will only deliver on its ambition to “make Britain the safest place in the world to be online” if it now ensures this legislation is comprehensive and wide reaching. A halfway house will just not do. It is obvious after 13 voluntary codes of practice that online platforms will not meaningfully change their ways unless there is a clear legal requirement for them to do so.

That’s why the NSPCC is working with The Daily Telegraph to make sure the Government hold social media firms to account, and provide a duty of care to their young users. In the fight for every childhood, it’s time to ensure that keeping children safe online is no longer an optional extra.