A tsunami of harm': views on tackling online safety for under-16s in the UK

The UK government is consulting on improving online safety for children and has pledged action against major social media companies. Ministers have indicated an Australia-style ban for under-16s or restrictions on addictive features such as infinite scrolling. Safety campaigners and MPs are pressing for stronger measures even after the Online Safety Act, which requires tech firms to protect children from harmful content. The consultation deadline is Tuesday night, and the government has promised to respond quickly. Ian Russell, an online safety campaigner and father of Molly Russell, supports going further than a blanket ban. He argues a cliff-edge ban would expose teenagers to harmful content on unreformed platforms once they reach the age limit. He instead supports blocking platforms that fail strict safety standards for under-16s while allowing access to safe apps, and he calls for faster implementation of the Online Safety Act and limits on aggressive algorithms that serve harmful content.

"Russell, a prominent online safety campaigner, wants action that turns the tide on the tsunami of unacceptable and avoidable harm. Russell's 14-year-old daughter Molly took her own life after watching harmful content on Instagram and Pinterest. He is not in favour of a blanket under-16s ban for major platforms, as in Australia, believing it would form a cliff edge that would expose teenagers to harmful content on unreformed platforms as soon as they are old enough."

"Last week he came out in support of a more nuanced approach where platforms that do not meet strict safety standards would be blocked to under-16s, with teenagers allowed to access safe apps. Currently, most major platforms have a minimum age of 13 in the UK, a limit set, in effect, by the General Data Protection Regulation. There is no formal limit for social media."

"Russell, the chair of the Molly Rose Foundation charity, has been critical of the pace of implementation of the Online Safety Act and wants it to be rebooted. On top of that, he wants a ban on aggressive algorithms that serve harmfu"

Read at www.theguardian.com