Social media firms have ‘duty of care’ to keep children safe and should be regulated, minister says

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Global technology companies have a “duty of care” to keep children safe and they should act responsibly, the culture secretary has said.

Matt Hancock has called on tech platforms to do more on online safety, adding they have a “moral responsibility” to build an internet which protects the next generation.

Speaking at the NSPCC’s conference in London, Mr Hancock said the argument no action can be taken in Britain to make global tech companies act responsibly was “wrong”.

“There is no other industry that we would let that argument work for. Imagine if we said 'these oil companies are global so we can’t regulate them'. It would be ridiculous,” Mr Hancock said.

The culture and digital secretary called on social media companies to enforce clear terms of use which children can understand and to display methods for users to report abusive or harmful content.

“Social media platforms are effectively public spaces. And the owner of any public space, online or offline, has a duty of care to the public who are invited in,” he said.

The government will set out legislative plans to tackle cyberbullying and online child sexual exploitation in a white paper, Mr Hancock added.

“My god we have got to do it,” he said. “As the father of three small children, I will use my role to do what I can to protect our young people and encourage them to use the internet in a safe and responsible way."

Last month, Mr Hancock said new laws would be introduced aimed at tackling the internet “wild west” and making Britain the “safest place in the world” to be online.

The largest social media companies could be fined billions of pounds if they do not take steps to protect users, he warned.

Speaking at the conference in London on Wednesday, Peter Wanless, the NSPCC’s chief executive, said: “For more than a decade, social networks have been allowed to mark their own homework.

"Following our campaign to end the Wild West web, this is soon going to change. We stand ready to work with the government to make those laws fit for purpose so children can truly be kept safe.”

Mr Wanless called for robust safety standards for social media networks enshrined in law.

He said: “We need real consequences for social networks that break the rules – and that means an independent regulator that has the powers to investigate and fine sites that don’t comply.

“I think we are at a landmark moment which, if we get it right, will not just keep children safe today, but for generations to come.”