The Safer Screens Data Clause aims to tackle doom scrolling and the commercialisation of our children's attention. The Liberal Democrats have picked up the baton to lead the charge on children's online safety after the government watered down the Safer Phones Bill. Write to your local MP to support New Clause 1 of the Data Bill to help protect our children online.
As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology I proposed legislation which would raise the digital age of data consent from 13 to 16 years. This amendment acknowledges a fundamental truth many parents already understand: children are having their childhoods stolen by manipulative algorithms pushing harmful content.
Currently, children as young as 13 can consent to their data being harvested and processed by social media companies, who employ some of the world's most sophisticated psychological techniques to keep users engaged. Would we allow this targeting in any other context involving children? The answer is clearly no.
Over the last few months, I have embarked on a ‘Safer Screens Listening Tour’, that has taken me across my constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted to sit down with students, teachers, and parents alike. My aim is simple: to listen and learn directly from those affected, using their experiences to shape my policy decisions, much like this newly proposed amendment.
What I have been hearing is concerning, but ultimately not surprising. Young people themselves have described experiencing "brain rot" from excessive screen time. They recognise that they are being pulled in by addictive algorithms that are specifically designed to capture, and keep, their attention. Many speak about the constant pressure to compare themselves to others online, a subtle but devastatingly effective way of pushing harmful ideas through a distorted lens, and the violent, graphic content that always seems to be a mere scroll away.
The statistics can back up these very real experiences, spotlighting them on a national stage: child mental health referrals have increased by 477% in just eight years, and one in four children aged 12-17 have received unwanted sexual images.
For years, we've watched as our children's well-being has been compromised while big tech focuses on profits, and the time for action is now. Parents understand the stakes. They see firsthand how these platforms affect their children's development and mental health.
The over-use of children's data directly increases their risk of harm through toxic algorithms that trap them in cycles of harmful content, recommender systems that can connect them with potential predators, and discriminatory AI systems used to make decisions about them with life-long consequences.
To be clear: this is not about restricting young people's digital access or opposing innovation. This is about requiring platforms to shift their focus from profits to the safety of children at the front and centre of all decisions made.
If you share my concern about harvesting children’s data, I urge you to write to your local MP using the template available here and ask them to support New Clause 1 of the Data (Use and Access) Bill - the Safer Screens Data Clause. With your support, we can make a real difference in creating a safer digital world for young people to use.
The responsibility for protecting children should not and can not fall solely on parents' shoulders. We need a systemic change that recognises the vulnerability of developing minds. A change of this magnitude can only be created when policymakers, parents, and tech giants work together for a solution.
Our children deserve to grow up in a digital environment that both respects and protects their developmental needs rather than exploiting their vulnerabilities for profit. Supporting New Clause 1 is a crucial step toward creating that safer online world.
Only together can we ensure that childhood in the digital age is characterised by growth, learning, and exploration, not exploitation and harm.