Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “I’ve heard from a million children as Children’s Commissioner, and thousands have told me about the harmful, extreme, totally inappropriate content they see online – often without looking for it. I’ve called for bold action to better protect children online because, despite the best intentions of the Online Safety Act, the risks online are evolving far more quickly than our legislation can keep pace with, allowing tech companies and social media firms to mark their own homework – with devastating results on children.
“I am pleased to see the Prime Minister has listened to my concerns and is working to close the legal loopholes that leave children at risk: tackling the use of AI chatbots, restricting VPNs used to undermine safety protections and limiting infinite scrolling. Urgent action is needed, and I will continue working closely with ministers to make sure changes reflect what children have told me about how to make the online world safer by design, including any decision to introduce a social media ban for under 16s.”
