Warrington South MP Andy Carter on the internet safety bill

OVER the past few weeks in Westminster, I have been pressing Government ministers on issues that Warrington South constituents have been in touch with my office about.

On numerous occasions now I have met with the Immigration Minister to discuss the use of the Fir Grove Hotel for asylum accommodation, and have repeatedly questioned the Home Office to understand the cohort who have been located in Warrington and called for more action to be taken to tackle the root causes of the immigration issues we see. I also want to see more support for families in Warrington South who have opened their homes to other families fleeing war in Ukraine. Having met with many host families over the last few weeks I’ve seen the generosity shown to those facing war at home and I know that willingness to support others during a time of crisis remains undiminished.

One of the issues we’ve been discussing in Parliament this week is how we try and keep young people safe online. In March of this year the Government introduced the Online Safety Bill. This is a really important, world-leading piece of legislation that will ensure that global tech companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users, in particular children. I say it’s world leading because most other countries haven’t yet agreed legislation in this area because things have changed rapidly and they’re looking at the work that we are doing in this country to shape what they do.

The internet has changed our lives, we can access information in a way we could never have imagined twenty years ago. The upsides of the web are sadly matched by downsides too, as we are all too aware. I’ve heard from many concerned parents about their worries of what their children have access to online and as a dad myself, I have real concerns about how social platforms influence and impact on the mental health of our children. On Monday evening we moved forward with legislation to protect children online with laws that also importantly balances protections for free legal speech and a concern that too much power over what we see and engage with online rests with tech giants themselves, often based overseas.

The Bill’s key objective, above everything else, is the safety of young people online. Not only will we preserve the existing protections, it will make clearer the existing expectations of platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube in understanding the age of their users and, where platforms specify a minimum age for users, require them to clearly explain in their terms of service the measures they use to enforce this and if they fail to adhere to these measures, Ofcom the media regulator will be able to act. The new law will also require the largest platforms to publish summaries of their risk assessments for illegal content and material that is harmful to children, to allow users and empower parents to clearly understand the risks presented by these services and the approach platforms are taking to children’s safety.

I have particular concerns regarding content online which intentionally encourages or assists vulnerable people to self-harm and we’ve seen some awful cases in the news recently where young people have taken their own lives. While the child safety duties in the Bill will protect children, vulnerable adults may remain at risk of exposure to this abhorrent content. So I’ve been pushing hard for the Secretary of State to make the encouragement of self-harm illegal. I’m really pleased to see the Government will bring measures forward in this Bill to create an offence of sending a communication that encourages serious self-harm. This new offence will ensure that trolls sending such messages to a person, regardless of the recipient’s age, face the consequences for their vile actions.

There’s still some way to go in finalising these new laws and there is a great deal more details in the legislation which I hope will increase protections for younger internet users. Of course, as parents we also have a duty to guide, support and monitor the use of the internet by our children – most mums and dads wouldn’t allow our youngsters into town without knowing where they were going, who they were meeting and what they’re doing – it’s the same online, we should be able to see what sites they visit, who they’re chatting with and what they’re doing in the virtual space.

As ever, if I or my team can be of assistance with an issue please drop an email to andy.carter.mp@parliament.uk