Protecting children online

Problem

Social media exploded without time for carefully thought-through regulation. But we don’t think this is an adequate excuse for not protecting children online – particularly on social media platforms.

There are currently no adequate regulations and protections for children online – especially around their interactions with social media platforms. This creates an unacceptable risk.

What we did

We believe proper regulation is the most effective way to make online service providers prioritise the safety of children. Working with The Children’s Commissioner, we set about creating a bespoke ‘Model Law’ that established a set Duty of Care to be imposed on all online service providers with respect to their interactions with children.

Result

The Children’s Commissioner’s Model Law sets out a practical means to ensure that children are protected - without removing the benefits of access to social and other online media.

The model law also imposes a duty of care on providers of online services, requiring them to take all reasonable and proportionate care to protect children from any reasonably foreseeable harm.

Given the changing nature of the digital landscape, the proposed regulation provides guidance on the concepts of harm, and what might be reasonably foreseeable – but these will be developed and interpreted by the courts, enabling the duty of care to adapt and evolve to cover future threats.