Campaigners welcome online harms legislation to protect children

The government is set to include the measure in an Online Harms Bill aimed at protecting users from threats such bullying and grooming by abusers.

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Proposals include increased powers for the regulator Ofcom while social media firms that fail to protect children face fines of up to ten per cent of their turnover or £18m, whichever is higher.

Sites that fail to protect users can also be blocked by Ofcom.

Children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield said there are “signs that this regulation will have teeth, including strong sanctions for companies found to be in breach of their duties”.

Finally, Govt has confirmed plans for this new & very welcome duty of care. Much will rest on the detail but it looks like it will have teeth to protect children online with strong sanctions. We now need the Bill introduced into Parliament ASAP. https://t.co/T0EEoZEviq pic.twitter.com/T30VzRukL9

— Anne Longfield (@annelongfield) December 15, 2020

Longfield added: “However, much will rest on the detail behind these announcements, which we will be looking at closely.

“It is now essential that the Online Safety Bill is introduced into Parliament as soon as possible in 2021, so that children can enjoy all the benefits of the online world while being kept safe from harm.”

The plans have been unveiled in the government's Online Harms White Paper, which details the threat children face on social media and messaging sites from online grooming. Children with mental health issues are among vulnerable young people targeted in this way by abusers.

“The grooming process can be extensive; building rapport and manipulating the victim – but it can also move almost immediately into sexual advances,” states the white paper

“This can involve the groomer then sending the child a message, using the same platform’s private messaging service or another private or encrypted messaging service, seeking to extort indecent imagery and continue their abuse.”

The charity Catch 22 said it was “pleased” to see the proposals around tougher regulation and giving Ofcom powers “to remove harmful content in order to protect vulnerable users”.

However, they would like to see more focus on social media firms preventing threats to child safety before they happen.

“Without proactive responsibility on these platforms, we are leaving many children and young people to navigate confronting and potentially violent situations by themselves, often without guidance or prompt support or adequate responses from platforms,” said the charity.

Catch 22 is carrying out a study into children and young people’s experiences of social media.

The study’s lead researcher, Dr Faith Gordon said: “All of the children and young people we spoke to highlighted the prevalence, extent and impact of online harms on their lives, and in particular the damaging consequences to their mental health and well-being. 

“Unanimously young people felt that social media companies and other online platforms were clearly not able to prevent harms and in noting how powerful these platforms are, they suggested that a system which has teeth in holding companies to account was urgently needed.”

The NSPCC, which has been campaigning for tougher regulation to protect children online through its #WildWestWeb campaign, says “for too long children have been exposed to abuse and harm online”.

“We'll be scrutinising these proposals, making sure child protection & children’s voices remain at the heart of regulation,” the charity added.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said: "We are entering a new age of accountability for tech to protect children and vulnerable users, to restore trust in this industry, and to enshrine in law safeguards for free speech."