Sarah Ferguson said she fears Ofcom’s new protections for kids ‘won’t do enough to shield our teenagers from the tidal wave of filth and toxicity on social media sites’
The Duchess of York has called for urgent action to protect young people from the “absolute sewer” of social media.
Sarah Ferguson said she fears media regulator Ofcom’s new protections for kids “won’t do enough to shield our teenagers from the tidal wave of filth and toxicity on social media sites”.
In an impassioned intervention, Fergie spoke about the “intense and sometimes cruel scrutiny” she faced from the press when she first entered the public stage in the 1980s.
“I am increasingly concerned about what the next generation face in terms of commentary on social media,” she wrote in a piece for LBC. “It’s not just people in the public eye, but anyone – including young children – who can become the brunt of cyberbullying and trolling.”
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She said she finds it “very sad” that people spend so much time being “so cruel” to others online, adding: “Social media offers great platforms for communication but it can also be a nightmare. Let’s be honest, much of it is an absolute sewer… It’s too easy for people to post hatred and bile towards others with no consequences whatsoever.”
Sarah said this isn’t “a trivial subject” highlighting kids becoming more anxious and depressed, with excessive social media being linked to increased stress, sleep problems and self-harm.
“We do know that in the worst cases, children have taken their own lives after being pursued by cyberbullies,” she said. “Others have died after dangerous prank and challenge videos have been circulated and apparently targeted at youngsters.”
She called for tech giants to be treated the same as any other publisher so they are “properly responsible for their content”.
At the end of last month, Ofcom released its final safety codes for social media giants to keep kids safe online. Under the Online Safety Act, social media firms will be ordered to ensure they tame toxic algorithms, take faster action on removing harmful content and introduce proper age checks on their platforms.
If tech firms fail to stick to the rules, they face fines of £18million or up to 10% of their global revenue or other business disruption measures, such as payment providers or advertising services being ordered to withdraw from an online site.
Ofcom will also have the power to seek a court order banning access to a site in the UK, in the most extreme cases. Online campaigners warned Ofcom’s measures do not go far enough and leave too much leeway for tech giants to get around the rules.
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