South Devon MP urges online safety for children

The MP for South Devon has pressed the Education Secretary on children’s safety online.

The Education Secretary has said she has confidence that government guidance on mobile phone usage in schools is being followed but admitted having concerns about “bullying” and other “terrible behaviour” that happens online once the school day ends. 

Bridget Phillipson responded to a question from Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon, during her appearance before the Education Select Committee on January 15.

In a wide-ranging conversation, which included discussions over SEND and school funding, Caroline also pressed the Education Secretary on whether the government was considering further controls on social media use for children, with Ms. Phillipson confirming she was “keeping the area under review.”

The Education Secretary’s appearance before the Committee came two days after politicians debated Jools Law. Launched via an e-petition which attracted 126,000 signatures, Jools Law called on the government to introduce legislation that would give bereaved parents or guardians’ access to their child’s full social media history.

Speaking in favour of the Law, Caroline Voaden recalled her frustrations with a meeting she attended with bereaved parents and representatives from Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Snap, in which privacy was cited as a reason for not releasing this data. 

She told her colleagues there was a palpable “absence of humanity” in the room, and that she could see “absolutely no reason why tech companies cannot immediately release the data devastated parents are asking for.” 

She went on to say the social media firms’ current stance was “a pathetic attempt to avoid the potential bad publicity” releasing the data might cause. 

Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon, said: “Keeping social media reform ‘under review’ will provide no comfort to the thousands of parents across South Devon who are worried about their child’s safety. 

“There is a social media fuelled crisis in children’s mental health today – and there could be no clearer sign of this than the meeting I attended with bereaved parents and representatives from the social media giants before Christmas. 

“Hearing these parents come forward to share their story and fail to convince these representatives to release the data they have on their child re-emphasised to me that we cannot rely on social media firms to act in anyone’s interests but their own. 

“I’m proud to be a co-sponsor of the Safer Phones Bill and I’ll continue to do everything I can to create a safer online environment for children and their parents.”