The importance of listening to young people and why it must be central to the government’s plans for children
“The government should listen to children’s ideas more and children shouldn’t have to pass their idea to an adult to make it happen … Children should be able to change the world too.”– Girl, 11. As Children’s Commissioner, it’s my job to listen to children and make sure their voices are heard by the people […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on the social media ban for under 16s
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “Children have told me time and again that they want to be protected online. My research showed that too many young people see pornography – and that the most common way to see it is accidentally on social media. Many children say they want to spend less time […]
The need to ensure all children are safe online, not just under 16s
A version of the below blog appeared on Politics Home. As Children’s Commissioner I have been clear that all online services – not just social media platforms – that use harmful features and functionalities should be banned from access to children. The government is due to respond to the consultation on banning social media for […]
Growing up in the online world: a national consultation – Response from the Children’s Commissioner
In the time I have been Children’s Commissioner, the online world has changed rapidly, as have the ways in which children interact with it. Perhaps the single biggest change is this: we used to speak about the differences between children’s offline and online lives. But over the time I have served as Commissioner, the walls […]
A healthy influence? Children’s exposure to appearance-changing products online
For the past five years as Children’s Commissioner I have been speaking to children about the online world and its influence on childhood. It became clear to me very early on in the role that children today do not distinguish between ‘being online’ and ‘being offline’ in the way that adults do, or even in […]
Press Notice: Children say parents in the dark about online experiences, as Children’s Commissioner launches new guide on online safety
Children have told the Children’s Commissioner that their parents and carers do not really understand their online experiences and would be shocked by how common some online harms are, but that if something bad happened online, many would not speak to their families first, if at all. Teenagers aged 13 to 18 said they accepted that bad things can happen online, feeling it was an inevitable part of the online world. They shared how […]
Why the Crime and Policing Bill must go further to protect children online
Today the Crime and Policing Bill returns to Parliament, with a number of amendments due for debate that aim to tackle some of the most harmful risks children are facing online today. Some of these are directly related to my own work on the scale and severity of emerging threats online: regulating violent pornography and banning nudification tools. The evidence is clear – children are exposed to serious harms online long before they turn 18. The tabled amendments […]
A new youth advisory board to help shape online safety
Over the last four years the Children’s Commissioner has heard from a million children, parents and carers. Without fail, one of the most common concerns they share is about growing up in a digital world or parenting this generation’s use of social media. The Commissioner’s recent report on children’s experiences of online pornography, and the […]
“Children are attacking children” – trauma surgeon Professor Martin Griffiths CBE joins The Big Conversation
“The youth voice is critical to designing services that are appropriate for young people. Everyone listens, but can they hear?” Last year I visited the Paediatric Critical Care Unit at Royal London Hospital to see their life changing work and to meet Professor Martin Griffiths CBE, a consultant major trauma surgeon at Barts Health NHS […]
Highly Effective Age Assurance must keep children safe
Earlier this week I published my second report on children’s exposure to pornography, ‘Sex is kind of broken now: children and pornography’. It was written to capture the state of play just before new rules under the Online Safety Act 2023 to protect children from pornography came into force. It showed that when it comes […]
Youth Voices
As Children’s Commissioner, my job is to hear from children about what is going on in their lives, and to tell people in power what they should do to make children’s lives better. I have heard from a million children, and I want to ensure all children’s voices are heard and taken into account on […]
The need for a Screen Free Summer
“The digital age has gone horrendous and will only get worse, we need a safer environment online” – Boy, 11. It is a hard truth to accept: it has become the norm for children to see awful, harmful things online. When I became Children’s Commissioner four years ago, I asked young children about the kind […]
Archived Content
Children’s Commissioner welcomes findings that 75% of people think impact of sexting and pornography should be taught in schools
Unfortunately, many children are exposed to images and content that are inappropriate for them to see.
The impact of online pornography on children and young people
A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people, commissioned by the Children’s Commissioner for England and the NSPCC and carried out by Middlesex University.
Anne Longfield’s comment on the Government’s consultation on implementing age checks on pornography websites
Much of what is depicted in online pornography would not be considered acceptable in real life and that is why it is vital that the Government consultation announced today results in urgent action.
Response to List Of Issues Submitted under Optional Protocol on sale of child pornography, etc.
Response to list of issues on the UK’s initial report submitted under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography
Briefing on the full Government response to the Online Harms White Paper
Three years since the publication of a Green Paper, and over 18 months since a White Paper, the Government has announced its final plans for a new Online Safety Bill. The Children’s Commissioner welcomes this groundbreaking legislation, which is a significant step forward in combatting online harms. There is now much work to be done […]
Six key priorities for after the general election: What should a new government do for children and young people?
With the delivery of the final Budget of the current government last Wednesday and less than 50 days to go until the General Election on 7 May, my thoughts, like many other,s are inevitably turning to what might happen after.
Anne Longfield: Why is PSHE so important?
What is PSHE and why is it so important?
Anne Longfield: My first week as Children’s Commissioner and my immediate priorities
It’s the end of my first week as Children’s Commissioner for England and what a fantastic week it has been! I am determined to use my six year term to make the country a better place for all children and young people to grow up in. I will be drawing on my 30 years’ experience campaigning […]
Submission to Pre-Sessional Working Group of the UNCRC
Submission to the pre-sessional working group of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
Basically Porn is Everywhere
A Rapid Evidence Assessment on the Effects that Access and Exposure to Pornography has on Children and Young People