UK may ban the use of social networks by children.
Report informs via the Guardian that the activists demand to ensure a more effective protection for children on social networks and some even urge to ban mobile phones.
The debate in the UK took on a fresh resonance in recent days after Esther Ghey, the mother of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, added her voice to those highlighting the dangers of smartphones.
"We'd like a law introduced, so that there are mobile phones that are suitable for under-16s," she told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg last Sunday. "So if you’re over 16, you can have an adult phone, but then under the age of 16 you can have a children’s phone, which will not have all of the social media apps that are out there now."
In demanding tougher curbs on big tech, she echoed other bereaved parents who believe social media played some role in the loss of their children – including Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly took her own life after viewing harmful content online.
The Tory MP Miriam Cates, the co-chair of the New Conservatives caucus of MPs, recently called for the UK to follow Florida’s lead with a social media ban – warning that "ordinary mums and dads are completely unequipped to do battle with the goliaths of Meta, TikTok and Apple."
"The people we really want to be taking responsibility for children being safe online are the tech companies," said Rani Govender, the senior policy officer at the NSPCC.
Lady Beeban Kidron, who campaigns for children’s rights online, said there was understandable focus on removing harmful content from apps – but policymakers should also be focusing on their underlying design.
"What we have to concentrate on is: why are we allowing companies to give addictive products to children? There is no reason on God’s earth that they have to be designed to be addictive. That is a business choice," she said. "You’ve basically got a faulty product here: they need to fix it."
Before Christmas, reports emerged in Britain that Rishi Sunak was exploring the possibility of tightening restrictions on children's use of social media. The new internet safety law has been in the works for many years but is still in the process of being implemented.