Online safety campaigners have welcomed Kate Winslet’s call on “people in power” to criminalise harmful digital content during her Bafta acceptance speech, as the UK parliament debates legislation to rein in social media platforms.
The actor won the television award on Sunday for her portrayal of a mother whose teenage daughter suffers from mental health problems as a result of viewing damaging online content.
Accepting the award for best leading actress for Channel 4 drama I am Ruth, in which she acted alongside her real-life daughter, Mia Threapleton, Winslet said: “We want our children back.”
She added: “For young people who have become addicted to social media and its darker sides, this does not need to be your life. To people in power, and to people who can make change, please, criminalise harmful content.”
The Molly Rose Foundation, established by the family of teenager Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing material related to self-harm and suicide on social media, said it was time the government “listened to the chorus of concerned parents” and delivered strong legislation on shielding young people from damaging digital content.
Referring to Prince William’s call for better protection of children online following an inquest into Russell’s death last year, a spokesperson for the foundation said: “It makes no difference if you are the winner of a best actress Bafta or the heir to the throne: families across the UK are concerned about keeping children safe in our unregulated digital world.
“It’s not only the readily found harmful content that causes concern, but also the tech platforms’ algorithms that push digital dangers to vulnerable young people every day.”
The spokesperson added that the government must deliver an online safety bill that addressed the scale of the problem. The bill imposes a duty of care on tech firms to shield children from harmful content, but members of the House of Lords are currently trying to strengthen the legislation.
A cross-party group of peers, led by the former culture secretary Nicky Morgan, will put forward a range of measures when the bill is debated in the upper chamber on Tuesday. Under the proposals, social media bosses could face jail terms of up to two years for persistent breaches.
Beeban Kidron, a leading online safety campaigner, said: “Kate Winslet is giving voice to what millions of parents and children are expressing.”
Lady Kidron added that the government was “pushing back” on some amendments in the upper chamber. Peers are seeking changes including stronger rules on age-checking measures and setting out children’s rights on the face of the bill.“I would like a commitment from No 10 to strengthening the bill for children, and for parliament as a whole to put its weight behind the needs of children to thrive online.”
The NSPCC said Winslet’s remarks would “resonate with parents up and down the country”.
“Regulation will start to bring the tech sector in line with other industries and ensure they have to assess and mitigate the risks of their products so they are safe for young users, but the pushback from some companies will be considerable,” said Rani Govender, senior child safety online policy officer at the NSPCC, which is calling for the bill to introduce an independent child online safety advocate.
A government spokesperson said the “world-leading” online safety bill would protect children on a range of platforms including social media networks, video-sharing sites and search engines, and that companies that breached the act would face fines of up to 10% of global turnover.
“Protecting children from being exposed to harmful content and behaviour such as bullying is an absolute priority for the government,” said the spokesperson.
In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255, or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
