Children’s Commissioner backs Esther Ghey’s call for safer phones for under-16s
Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza has backed Esther Ghey’s call for safer phones for under-16s that will prohibit access to social media apps.
Ms Ghey’s daughter Brianna was stabbed by two teenagers who were only 15 at the time.
The assailants had reportedly planned the attack for weeks using a messaging app.
Brianna’s mother is now campaigning for children under 16 to be blocked from accessing social media on their smartphones, as well as having more robust parental controls to spot potentially harmful searches.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Dame Rachel said there was “something really smart” in Ms Ghey’s suggestion.
She said a blanket ban on phones for under-16s was unlikely but added that more could be done to push devices that were “safe by design”.
This could include phones that would allow children to stay in touch and contact their parents but block access to social media sites.
Dame Rachel asked if it was possible to “really lean on the Apples and Googles” to produce phones with safer access features.
She also said that half of 13-year-olds surveyed by her team had reported viewing “hardcore misogynistic” pornographic content via social media.
Given this fact, she said she wouldn’t want children on such sites “before they’re 18”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously said that the new Online Safety Act is strong enough to safeguard children online.