THE GUARDIAN 🔵 Molly Russell’s father tells Starmer UK ‘going backwards’ on online safety

The father of a 14-year-old girl who died after viewing harmful content on social media has told Keir Starmer that the UK is “going backwards” on online safety.

Ian Russell, chair of the Molly Rose Foundation set up in memory of Molly, who took her own life in 2017, said the regulator Ofcom’s implementation of the Online Safety Act has been a “disaster” in a letter to the prime minister on Saturday.

Russell said, unless there are changes to the legislation, “the streams of life-sucking content seen by children will soon become torrents: a digital disaster”.

Passed in late 2023, the Online Safety Act is the UK’s first major legislation to regulate social media, search engine, messaging, gaming, dating, pornography and filesharing platforms.

It gives Ofcom the power to fine firms that fail to meet these duties – potentially up to billions of pounds for the largest sites – and in serious cases can seek clearance to block access to a site in the UK.

Last month, the regulator published the first set of online safety rules, legally requiring platforms to assess the risk of illegal content such as terrorism, hate, fraud, and child abuse, and implement safety measures by March or face enforcement action.

However, Russell wrote that Ofcom’s choices “starkly highlighted intrinsic structural weaknesses with the legislative framework”, and that the regulator “has fundamentally failed to grasp the urgency and scale of its mission”.

He urged Starmer to reform the Online Safety Act, focusing on stronger regulations, a duty of care for tech companies and putting victim-centred policies at the heart of the framework.

The letter ended: “Too many parents have lost hope that governments will deliver the online safety reform they urgently need.

“Among bereaved families, there is widespread dismay that successive governments have chosen to dither and delay when the consequences of inaction has been further lost lives.

“As prime minister and as a father, I implore you to act.

“You now have a profound opportunity, but also a great responsibility, to act clearly and decisively and to show millions of parents across this country that meaningful change is on the way.

“It is time to decisively protect children and young adults from the perils of our online world.”

Russell said Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and X owner Elon Musk “are at the leading edge of a wholesale recalibration” of the technology industry.

Earlier this week, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced it is scrapping its longstanding fact-checking programme in favour of a community notes system.

Zuckerberg said this would focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying policies and restoring free expression on platforms, but would mean catching “less bad stuff”.

Russell wrote that the move was “a profound strategic shift away from fundamental safety measures towards a laissez-faire, anything goes model”, creating a “bonfire of digital ethics and online safety features” in which children “lose the most”.

A Meta spokesperson said: “There is no change to how we treat content that encourages suicide, self-injury, and eating disorders. We will continue to use our automated systems to scan for that high-severity content.

“We want young people to have safe and age-appropriate experiences on our apps – this has not changed.”

“We recently launched Teen Accounts in the UK which automatically limits who can contact them and the types of sensitive content they see. Teens under 16 need a parent’s permission to change these settings”.

A No 10 spokesperson said the prime minister thanked Russell for the letter and acknowledged the “immense bravery” of him and other families campaigning for children’s online safety.

They added: “This government is committed to ensuring online safety for children.

“Social media platforms must step up to their responsibilities and take robust action to protect children from seeing harmful content on their sites.”

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We recognise the profound pain caused by harmful content online, and our deepest sympathies remain with Ian Russell and all those who have suffered unimaginable loss.

“That’s why we’re doing everything in our power to hold platforms to account and create a safer life online, and victims’ voices will continue to be at the heart of our work.”

X was contacted for comment.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org