The Molly Rose Foundation (MRF) today calls on the UK’s political parties to adopt a bold package of measures to transform children’s online safety and well-being and that can fundamentally reset the relationship between Big Tech and children.
Six years after Molly Russell’s death, the charity founded in her name sets out a five-point plan to build on regulation and fast-track much needed change.
The plan includes a commitment to introduce a new Online Safety Act, a proactive duty of candour on tech firms, and a one-off harm reduction windfall tax on Big Tech companies that have made substantial profits from monetising harmful content.
Given the renewed groundswell of concern about online safety, MRF wants political parties to commit to a decisive and ambitious strategy that can reassure parents that change is coming, but that is rooted in evidence.
MRF thinks smartphone bans or further restrictions on social media are the wrong approach to this crucial issue, and that the quickest and most effective way to protect children’s online safety and well-being is to build on existing regulation.
MRF’s five-point plan includes:
- A new Online Safety Act: this should introduce an overarching Duty of Care and require the regulator to focus on measurable harm reduction;
- A new transparency and accountability regime for Big Tech: this includes a new proactive duty of candour on tech giants and a legal duty to report on exposure to online harms in their corporate accounts;
- A one-off harm reduction windfall tax: social media companies should contribute to cleaning up the harms they cause;
- A statutory Code for app stores and operating systems: resulting in high-quality, well-designed age assurance and parental controls on children’s devices;
- Investment in education and mental health support: this should emphasise prevention, including high-quality RSE to teach children digital safety, suicide prevention and mental health skills.
Ian Russell, Chair of Trustees of the MRF, said: “We owe our children nothing less than decisive action that protects them from entirely preventable online harms and prevents further lost lives. It’s time to make clear the cost of entry to the UK market is children’s safety.
“Six years after Molly’s death, it’s time for a fundamental reset of the relationship between tech companies and children. Political parties should commit to bold measures that can reassure parents real change is on the way.
“Regulation is evidently the best solution to a complex issue, not bans or restrictions that would punish children for the failure of Big Tech. Politicians should commit to transform children’s lives with a new Online Safety Act and a set of ambitious measures to take on Big Tech’s harmful business model.”
Read the MRF’s full General Election Manifesto.
If you’re struggling just text MRF to 85258 so you can speak to a trained volunteer from Shout, the UK’s Crisis Text Line service
