Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “My first priority will always be the safety of children, who tell me about their negative online experiences of seeing inappropriate, harmful, and extreme content across social media – often without looking for it. They tell me there are sites they would never want their siblings on, and they want age verification to work properly to protect them.
“I’ve been clear that we should look to countries like Australia where they have taken bold steps to protect children. A ban on social is not an immediate guarantee they are safe online – but if, after consultation, Ministers put forward a clear plan to properly enforce a ban that’s based on how children tell us they access these sites, I would support it. I have been consulting children since I took up this post and will work with ministers to make sure their views are heard and acted on.
“Schools also have a role to play, and the vast majority of heads already restrict or ban phones in their schools – yet they tell me children’s safety online is one of their biggest worries. We cannot lose focus on preventing children from ever being exposed to harmful content and addictive design through a robust and evolving Online Safety Act, which I will be monitoring to be confident we are not simply driving children to other, darker parts of the internet, or to international sites where there are fewer restrictions.”
