More than four in five parents would back a personal pledge from Keir Starmer to improve online safety during his time as Prime Minister as threats to children continue to grow
Almost nine in ten (87%) adults are concerned about online content featuring extreme violence in the wake of the Southport attacks, polling shows today..
More than four in five (83%) parents would back a personal pledge from Keir Starmer to improve online safety for children during his time as PM. The survey also found an overwhelming majority of adults (91%) are concerned about the online grooming of children leading to self-harm and suicide acts.
The Molly Rose Foundation (MRF), which carried out the polling, has warned the PM that he must urgently intervene to stop more “preventable tragedies”. The suicide prevention charity, which was named after 14-year-old Molly Russell who took her own life over online harms, has repeatedly warned that media regulator Ofcom is being too slow to implement the Online Safety Act.
The Act finally became law in October 2023 after years of wrangling in Parliament but Ofcom is still yet to use its new powers. Its final code is not expected to be published until later this year.
According to the poll, some 85% of parents would support a new Online Safety Act that strengthens safety for kids on the internet. Just 9% think Ofcom is doing enough to protect children online, 8% think the government is doing enough and only 6% said social media platforms are playing their part.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, viewed violent videos online in the moments before murdering three children in Southport last July. But pleas for social media companies to remove the content have fallen on deaf ears.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the MRF, said: “Online threats propelled by fluid ideologies have been thrust into the spotlight after the Southport killings and are driving deeply disturbing new trends, including children being groomed by online groups into acts of self-harm and even suicide.
“In the face of such appalling risks, it beggars belief that Ofcom has failed to introduce any targeted measures to address suicide and self-harm offences. The Prime Minister must now intervene with tough legislation that stops more inherently preventable tragedies and that treats this threat with the urgency it deserves.”
YouGov polled 2,275 adults between February 4 and 5 for the MRF.
