Duchess of York: Ofcom measures will not be enough to ‘shield our teenagers’

Sarah, Duchess of York, has warned that new Ofcom online safety measures will not be enough to “shield our teenagers” from a “tidal wave of filth” on social media.

Ofcom’s new rules will empower the regulator to issue large fines against social media companies failing to protect child users, and to seek court orders to ban them in the UK entirely in extreme cases.

The duchess claimed the measures did not go far enough and tech giants should be treated the same as any other publisher and made “properly responsible for their content”.

In an opinion piece for LBC, Sarah wrote: “Last week, the media regulator Ofcom published measures intended to improve protections for children online, including requiring tougher age checks and more robust action to prevent children accessing harmful content.

“But I fear this won’t do enough to shield our teenagers from the tidal wave of filth and toxicity on social media sites.”

The duchess is not the first online safety campaigner to argue the new rules do not go far enough, with others saying tech firms have been allowed excessive control over defining what content is harmful.

Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation which was set up in the memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell who ended her life after seeing harmful social media content, called Ofcom’s measures a “series of missed opportunities”.

The duchess added: “This isn’t a trivial subject. Our teenagers have become more anxious and depressed.

“There was a notable rise in depression which started in 2012, around the time many secondary school children started to get smartphones.

“Excessive social media use has been linked to increased stress, sleep problems, and even self-harm.

“We’re only just starting to understand who is vulnerable and what we can do to protect them.

“We do know that in the worst cases, children have taken their own lives after being pursued by cyberbullies.

“Others have died after dangerous prank and challenge videos have been circulated and apparently targeted at youngsters.”

Sarah added: “Let’s be honest, much of it is an absolute sewer.

“People say things to each other they wouldn’t dream of saying in the real world”.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “The changes we’ve announced are a reset for children online.

“They will mean safer social media feeds with less harmful and dangerous content, protections from being contacted by strangers and effective age checks on adult content.

“Ofcom has been tasked with bringing about a safer generation of children online, and if companies fail to act they will face enforcement.”