Bishops back calls for social media regulation

SOCIAL media firms should be regulated like water and energy companies to protect young people, a report backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, that also calls for an overhaul of the tax system, says today.

Internet giants like Facebook must adopt a “duty of care” and should be considered a “public good” that is licensed in the UK by a watchdog, it says.

Failing to protect young people would see them stripped of their licence, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a centre-left think tank, suggests in proposals that resonate with The Daily Telegraph’s Duty of Care campaign.

In a wide-ranging report, the Archbishop of Canterbury also declared he wants to shake-up the inheritance tax system to help young people.

Proceeds, it says, will be raised by scrapping inheritance tax and replacing it with a so-called “gifts tax” that would pay for higher minimum wages and help young people buy homes.

An individual would be able to receive an income of £125,000 over their lifetime, with further gifts subject to income tax. Proposals also include hiking corporation tax to net £13bn a year, and raising capital gains tax.

Launching the report, the Most Rev Justin Welby said: “For decades the UK economy has not worked as it should ... By putting fairness at the heart of the economy, we can make it perform better, improving the lives of millions.”

Tom Kibasi, the IPPR director, said young people faced “unprecedented challenges from the unregulated rise of giant tech monopolies, including to their mental health and wellbeing”.

The IPPR’S commission on economic justice, that included business leaders, academics and union bosses, proposed establishing a new regulator called the Office of Digital Platforms (Ofdigi).

Its report said: “A small number of firms now provide services that have become essential features of modern life in the digital age. These services are akin to public goods provided by traditional utilities such as water, electricity, telecommunications and broadcasting. There are a number of roles Ofdigi could perform to ensure that digital infrastructure is regulated for the public good. These might include establishing a duty of care for social media platforms ... ensuring minimum standards around published content.”

The Rt Rev Alan Smith, the Bishop of St Albans, said: “There is an urgent need to have some sort of regulatory body.”

The Telegraph’s campaign calls for a statutory duty of care on social media and gaming firms to give children better protection from online harm.

‘These are akin to public goods provided by traditional utilities such as water and electricity’