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.
Molly’s friends delivered a letter to the Prime Minister signed by over 1,300 supporters 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. Join our campaign 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 a stronger, more ambitious Online Safety Act 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, carers and trusted adults to move beyond asking young people what they do online and instead explore who and what is influencing their thoughts, feelings, choices and behaviour.
This resource gives tips and guidance on how to have an open and constructive conversation with children and young people about the social media ban.
This guide helps parents to understand how to support their family through the social media ban announcement, including children with SEND.
This guide helps parents understand the recent social media ban announcement and what it may mean for children and families.
This guide helps parents and carers understand how algorithms influence what children see online, while offering practical steps and conversation prompts to keep them safe, informed, and in control of their digital experiences.
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.