harmful tech is not inevitable
Watching Molly Vs the Machines will understandably alarm many people, particularly parents (support for parents). The film shows how the business models of tech companies prioritise profit over safety, and how the risks created by unsafe algorithms continue to harm young people today.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Harmful tech is not inevitable.
If the Government acts now with courage and determination, the product safety risks that caused Molly’s death can become a thing of the past.
Molly’s death was preventable and there is hope for the future.
Our vision is for an online world in which children are safe by design protected from preventable harm driven by the unchecked business models and reckless product choices made by Big Tech, and where young people’s wellbeing is designed in from the start – not as an afterthought.
Sign our letter to the Prime Minister to demand:
Let’s fix tech to protect our teens.
Parents and the public are rightly demanding action on online safety.
This presents a real opportunity to deliver the decisive change we need.
Healthy feeds, healthy teens – let’s ensure that growing up online no longer means growing up with unacceptable and entirely preventable harm
Let’s make our tech safe by design
It’s time to deliver tech accountability through strong and effective regulation – making clear that safety and wellbeing is the price of admission to the UK market.
If Britain takes a stand, we can fix product safety and make tech firms accountable for the safety of our social media, gaming and AI – just like we do in every other part of the economy.
Tech will continue to be part of all our lives. That’s why we need education that keeps children safe and protects young people by equipping them with the critical literacy skills they need to thrive online.
This is our hopeful vision for change, grounded in evidence, and it’s how we can ensure every young person lives long and stays strong.
Harmful tech is not inevitable and children deserve better than unsafe design. Sign our letter to the Prime Minister to demand,
Molly died because Big Tech business models pursue profit and engagement over children’s safety. Online safety is product safety – and it’s only through standing up to the business models and design choices of Silicon Valley that we finally can make our children safe.
The Online Safety Act was a start, but it does not go far enough. We need stronger, more ambitious legislation and regulation that is fearlessly and robustly enforced.
As in every other part of our economy, stronger regulation can deliver the changes we need. But it needs our Prime Minister to take a stand.
The lives of young people should never be negotiable or a bargaining chip.
Children’s safety should be part of Big Tech design from the start – never a bolt-on.
Real change also begins in classrooms, where the next generation can learn the lifelong skills to stay safe and thrive online.
Children need foundational skills to stay safe, to critically understand algorithms and design choices, and stand ready in the face of online risks that undermine safety and wellbeing,
That’s why Molly Rose Foundation works in schools, providing age-appropriate resources to primary and secondary students. It’s why we work to drive systemic change in the curriculum: to enable young people to recognise harmful design and its effects, understand how cumulative harms build up, and to have the power and agency to fight back against Big Tech and its profit-driven approach.
Education complements legislative reform: it empowers young people whilst we push for systemic product safety they demand and deserve.
This guide supports parents to talk safely and confidently with their children about stories like Molly’s and the issues it raises about harmful online content.
This guide helps parents and teachers support young people to recognise harmful or unsettling content online and understand how it can affect their feelings and wellbeing.
This guide supports parents and carers to approach difficult conversations with calm, care and confidence.
This guide helps families understand who and what may be shaping a child’s online world and how these influences can affect mood, confidence and safety.
This guide gives families practical and realistic ways to build healthier screen use together with a focus on the design features that keep us online for longer.
This guide gives families simple and practical ways to support children with harmful or unsettling content they may see online.