Comprehensive approach needed to online child safety says NSPCC
Over 3,400 children in the South West experienced harm through Child Sexual Abuse Material online in the last year
A children's charity says a ban on social media would be "better than nothing" but says the Government must take more comprehensive action in order to protect children.
In the last year, at least 3,481 offences of Child Sexual Abuse Material, which includes images and videos of young people, were recorded by Forces in the South West.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is expected to back a ban on social media for under-16s, saying it is “the only way to stem the harms we know are happening right now”, with campaigners calling for an Australia-style ban.
A Government consultation on children’s online experiences – which floated measures such as a ban for under-16s, app curfews and limits on addictive features – closed last week.
The NSPCC feels a "film-style" rating system for online platforms would ensure that young people have age appropriate experiences.
The charity's Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Lewis Keller, said: "If platforms can't make themselves or don't make themselves safe for children, they can't offer their services to children. And it also means that when there is a minimum age, whether that's 13 or 16, platforms actually have to enforce it, using age assurance technology to make sure that we aren't allowing children under the age onto these services."
Tech companies must take action
Lewis told us it's vital that tech firms are forced to ensure their products are suitable for young children.
He said one of the keys is tackling addictive features of online platforms.
"Whether it's that's things like autoplay, infinite scroll, addictive algorithms, these sorts of things need to be stripped out of platforms for children so that they're not being hooked online."
He told us that the NSPCC wants to avoid a blanket ban, with social media a significant part of childhood now, but stressed it must be safer and avoid a "cliff edge"
"It's really important that in any action that the government takes that they're doing that not just for social media, but also to protect children against harm across the online world."
He said there are benefits to children accessing certain parts of the online world, such as exploring interests and connecting with friends, but the right protections must be in place.
Child sexual abuse rising
Lewis revealed that counselling sessions by Childline for online child sexual abuse and exploitation has gone up by a third in the last year.
He called the statistic "concerning" and said it shows tech platforms aren't doing enough to protect children from harm.
"That sort of harm could include things like nude images of them being shared between offenders or that they're being financially blackmailed with those nude images. It means being contacted by strangers online who contact them sometimes to groom, coerce or blackmail them."
He urged parents to speak to their children about their experiences online and normalise those conversations, but stressed that the majority of responsibility for safety needs to be put onto companies.
Parents and children can contact the NSPCC online or 0800 11 11 to share concens about things that are happening online and offline.
Children can also access a service called Report Remove, which is a joint service by Childline and Internet Watch Foundation, where there are cases of nude images being shared online. The service ensures they cannot be uploaded again.