Social media giants should be forced to give orphaned parents access to their deceased children’s online accounts under proposed changes to the Internet Safety Act.
The statement was backed by former Tory culture secretary Nicky Morgan and parents Molly Russell and Frankie Thomas, who committed suicide after watching self-harming content.
The controversial bill will be introduced in the House of Commons later today, where it will face a slew of changes after the government agreed to ease requirements for tech companies to remove content that was “legal but harmful” to adults.
Among other changes proposed by Crossbench colleague Baroness Kidron and backed by parents who have lost children to social media use, social media bosses will be forced to grant access to a child’s account or face hefty fines if they don’t comply.
The amendment, which will be introduced after legislation is introduced in the House of Lords next year, also imposes a duty on Ofcom to act as a bridge between families and technology companies.
It comes after Ian Russell, Molly’s father, and his family spent five years fighting social media giants to gain access to their child’s account in order to better understand why their daughter committed suicide.
Mr. Russell, founder of the Molly Rose Foundation, said no family should be subjected to the long ordeal that their own family has endured.
“There is an urgent need to manage this process to make it simpler, more compassionate and more efficient. We can no longer leave families and coroners at the mercy of social media,” he said.
Baroness Kidron said families have to “go through the pain” to find out what their kids were watching and how much of it was recommended to them by “the algorithms used by tech companies to maximize profits.”
A colleague who founded the online child protection charity 5Rights added: “We need to end the tech sector’s obfuscation tactics and create a transparent, independent process for everyone to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again. For the sake of the next of kin, now and in the future, I urge the government to accept them. To deny them this right is simply inhuman.”
The plans were backed by Baroness Morgan, a former secretary of education and culture who wrote the Tory Manifesto on Internet Regulation in 2019.
“Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. But having to fight against relentless technology platforms for years to figure out what type of content was accessed can only exacerbate the trauma,” she said.
The Internet Safety Bill returns to the Commons committee later today amid warnings that it could face further delays in the new year.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or otherwise suffering from your mental health, you can contact Samaritans toll free on 116 123 or email: [email protected] Send
Source: I News
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