US and UK announce partnership for online child safety

The United States and Britain have announced what they say is the first joint agreement aimed at keeping children safe online.

It will set up a joint online safety working group to share evidence and expertise and examine the impact of social media on children.

UK Technology Secretary Peter Keir said the deal would shift the two countries’ “historic partnership” towards “delivering a safer online world for our next generation”.

But campaign group Smartphone Free Childhood said this was not enough and parents “don’t have time to wait to see if this UK-US deal will have any impact when their children’s futures are at stake.”

Others, however, believe there is a real need to collect more evidence related to online harms to guide future policy.

“Policies and guidance to support young people navigating the digital world need to be based on strong evidence, but so far we have not had much success in identifying impacts on well-being,” said Professor Peter Etchells. Bath Spa University

Announcing the deal, the UK government acknowledged that “research and evidence on the causal impact of social media on children and young people is limited”.

It works to consider how to give researchers access to more data held by big tech companies.

The agreement was announced on joint statement between the two countries.

At its core is a joint working group that will work to “increase platform transparency” and “better understand the impact and risks of the digital world on young people, including the generation of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.”

They also expressed hope that technology platforms can “go further and faster” to protect children.

“As more children in the United States and around the world have access to online platforms for online learning and social media, the risk of this exposure increases,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

She added: “That’s why we, in the US and with our partners in the UK, are taking the necessary steps to protect children’s privacy, safety and mental health.”

However, Smartphone-Free Kids says action needs to be taken soon and has launched a campaign calling on the UK government to ensure children do not have access to mobile phones in schools.

The campaign group believes “further delays” by the government will make the UK look “increasingly behind” other European countries that are tightening restrictions.

Now government guidance says Rules: “All schools should ban the use of mobile phones throughout the school day – not just during school hours, but also during recess and lunchtimes”.

However, so far the government has said it has no plans to ban smartphone use by teenagers under 16.

The UK’s Online Safety Act does set out the responsibilities of online platforms to keep children safe and take steps to reduce risks.

But this is not yet fully in effect. Communications regulator Ofcom is still setting out guidance for businesses on how to comply with the new legislation.