As part of #UKSaferInternetDay I hosted a meeting in the House of Commons for children, students and many expert groups to look at what changes need to be made in order to make the online world safer for children.
The event was organised by the All Party Group for Online Safety on Social Media. It was timed to coincide with the launch of the UK Safer Internet Centre’s new report which focuses on all areas of 'change' in young people’s online lives.
It is important that parents and carers are empowered by providing the information and resources they need to better support their children at home, that schools are equipped with the safety tools they need to keep pace with the rapidly changing online environment, and that young people’s voices are heard and amplified to create more opportunities for children to engage in online safety.
The new Online Safety Act has now entered into law. This will make progress in preventing children from being targeted by many forms of online harm. We are one of the first countries in the world to legislate in this area, and many other countries are now following the UK’s lead. The regulator, Ofcom, is now consulting on the detailed implementation of the many areas that are covered by this law. We discussed the need to make sure that parents and children can feed into this consultation. I will be taking this up with Ofcom.
Thank you to Internet Watch Foundation for your invaluable support.
