- A number of high profile public figures have today backed the
government’s Online Safety Bill
- It comes as the government releases latest findings from
Ipsos revealing UK adults think social media platforms should be
doing more to protect children online
- Jermaine Jenas, Myleene Klass, Georgia Kousoulou, Jo Frost
and Laura Amies amongst celebrities publicly supporting new
internet safety laws
- The Bill returned to Parliament this week with new
protections for children
A number of high profile public figures including
Jermaine Jenas, Myleene Klass, Georgia Kousoulou, Jo Frost and
Laura Amies have today backed the government’s Online Safety Bill
in the week the landmark internet safety laws returned to
Parliament.
It comes as the government releases latest findings from a survey
by Ipsos revealing that more than 70 per cent of adults in the UK
think social media platforms should be doing more to protect
children online.
The new data coincides with the return of the Online Safety Bill
to Parliament this week, following the announcement of vital new
provisions.
This includes greater accountability on larger tech companies to
protect young people, including requiring them to publish a
summary of their risk assessments concerning the dangers their
platform poses to children, alongside moves to boost transparency
and accountability through new powers for the regulator Ofcom.
Ipsos research also found that 69 per cent of people believe that
children are not safe when using social media, with 77 per cent
of adults worried about children seeing content promoting self
harm.
The draft legislation will go further than before to shield
children, whilst protecting free speech. The Online Safety Bill
has significant public backing, with more high profile public
figures today backing it, from former England footballer Jermaine
Jenas to global parenting expert Jo Frost.
This follows confirmation that the Bill will also include new
measures to make significant changes to the UK’s criminal law to
increase protections for vulnerable people online by
criminalising the encouragement of self-harm and the sharing of
people’s intimate images without their consent.
Former England footballer, broadcaster and parent, Jermaine Jenas
says:
Our support for the landmark Online Safety Bill is so important
in ensuring tech companies clamp down on harmful content that can
be accessed by children online. As a parent myself, I am keen to
ensure that my kids are able to use the internet safely. The
Online Safety Bill is a step in the right direction.
Musician and mum, Myleene Klass says:
These new internet safety laws are incredibly important to
protecting children and young people online. We are all aware of
the harmful content that is available online and shared across
social media platforms.
These new safety laws put more responsibility on social media
platforms to ensure the removal of this content and enforce them
to actually stop underage children from accessing content they
shouldn’t be. We need to ensure our children feel empowered,
supportive and safe online.
TV personality and mother, Georgia Kousoulou says:
As a mum, I’m already thinking about how I will help Brody
navigate the online world. I’ve experienced first hand how
harmful and damaging online content can be and the online safety
bill is so important in preventing this.
It will hold technology companies accountable for harmful content
they are allowing children to see online. I am looking forward to
seeing this legislation passed and the effect this will have to
make the online world a safer place for everyone.
Global parenting expert Jo Frost (‘Super Nanny’), says:
While we understand the importance of protecting our children in
the physical world, we must also be sure to recognise the equal
importance of keeping our children safe online in the virtual
world too. “This is the reason why with urgency we must all come
together in strength to support these new internet safety laws to
ensure that social media companies are held more accountable for
the content children access on their platforms.”
Child behaviour expert Laura Amies (‘The Toddler Tamer’ from
Channel 5’s Toddlers Behaving (Very) Badly), says:
Given that children learn so much from their environment, those
within it and the experiences they have, I believe that it is now
more important than ever to do all we can to ensure their safety
online.
As an adult who spends a great deal of my time online, social
media in particular, I can not imagine trying to navigate the
internet throughout my most formative years and often say how
grateful I am to have attended school without a smart phone in my
school bag.
As adults however, it is our responsibility to ensure that we
keep online safety at the forefront in a bid to both protect and
be able to benefit from the infinite positives that the internet
has to offer us.
The Online Safety Bill returned to Parliament on 5 December in
the House of Commons for Report stage.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- Ipsos conducted an online survey with a representative sample
of 1,032 adults aged 16-75 across the United Kingdom between 4th
and 8th November 2022. Quotas were set and data weighted using
demographic variables to match the known population profile.
