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The father of Molly Russell has warned “sticking plasters” will not be enough to strengthen online safety measures after the Technology Secretary indicated he was considering an “app cap” for children.
Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter took her own life after viewing harmful content on social media, urged the Prime Minister to “act decisively” in toughening legislation to protect young people online.
It comes after Cabinet minister Pete Kyle signalled he was looking at measures to restrict the amount of time children spend on their phones, including through a possible 10pm curfew.
Mr Russell, who is chairman of the Molly Rose Foundation set up in his daughter’s memory, said: “Every day the Government has delayed bringing in tougher online safety laws we’ve seen more young lives lost and damaged because of weak regulation and inaction by big tech.
“Parents up and down the country would be delighted to see the Prime Minister act decisively to quell the tsunami of harm children face online, but sticking plasters will not do the job.
“Only a stronger and more effective Online Safety Act will finally change the dial on fundamentally unsafe products and business models that prioritise engagement over safety.”
The Online Safety Act has passed into law, and from this year will require tech platforms to follow new Ofcom-issued codes of practice to keep users safe online, particularly children.
Hefty fines and site blockages are among the penalties for those caught breaking the rules, but many critics have argued the approach gives tech firms too much scope to regulate themselves.
Mr Kyle was asked on Sunday morning whether he would look at limiting the time children spend on social media to two hours per app after the Sunday People and Mirror reported the measure was being considered by ministers.
“I’ve not been able to talk publicly about what the Labour approach is because we have the legacy legislation that has to go through first,” he told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show.
“This year we’ve had illegal content that needs to be taken down, but in July age-appropriate material must be supplied by platforms otherwise there’ll be criminal sanctions against them.
“And in this time, I’ve been looking very carefully about what we do next.”
Pressed on whether he was looking at an “app cap”, Mr Kyle said: “I’m looking at things that prevent healthy activity, I’m looking at some of the addictive nature of some of the apps and smartphones.
“I’m trying to think how we can break some of the addictive behaviour and incentivise more of the healthy developmental… and also the good communicative side of online life.”
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