5Rights and Children’s Coalition urge PM to protect online safety in UK-US trade talks

More than 20 child safety organisations and bereaved families urge the Prime Minister to uphold the Online Safety Act amid fears it could be weakened in UK–US trade talks.

5Rights has joined charities, campaigning organisations and a group of bereaved families in writing to the UK Prime Minister, imploring him to prioritise children’s online safety in any economic deal with the US Administration.  

The letter follows reports that the UK Government may seek to water down enforcement of the Online Safety Act and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act in order to enter into a trade agreement.  

The two pieces of legislation are the key regulatory apparatus in Britain from which the government and regulators can hold tech companies accountable for harm to children on their services.  

In the letter we call on the Prime Minister to defend the Online Safety Act in order to deliver on his government’s commitment to raising the healthiest generation of children ever.  

Over the last few weeks there has been considerable discussion at the very highest levels of Government on public reaction to a Netflix drama, Adolescence which portrayed the actions of a young teenage boy who violently murders a young teenage girl. The themes explored in the show, which include violent misogyny, radicalisation, bullying, and mental health, have sparked a conversation about the realities of what children face in an unregulated online world and how it is impacting them.  

The Prime Minister this week held a roundtable with the writers of the show and has given his support to an initiative by Netflix to show the drama series for free to secondary schools in England. 

In our letter we have told the Prime Minister the Online Safety Act is the best defence against the violent and hateful content children are being served online.