Tech companies have treated children as data to be mined for far too long - our plan ensures this will never happen again Source: LBC News

 This article by Munira Wilson, Spokesperson for Education, Children and Families sets out the political views of the LD party but it also describes their approach to issues surrounding social media, online content and age appropriateness of online material.

We may or may not agree with their approach but clearly the issue of online safety of children is unlikely to fade away. 

The headline does raise and major issue. The data mining undertaken by social media companies is potentially, if not more, dangerous then the content itself. If these companies have their own policical agenda (we know they do), and they recognise the importance to them of capturing users while they are young we could see the emergence of the Utopian Ministry of Truth. They become influencers rather than supporters and it is their agenda they are pushing, whatever that might be.

Manipulating young minds, through the use of responsive algorithms, is a crime worth of the name. How we deal with such threats is important. We need our young people to grow and become fully functional in their technhogically rich communities. Banning access or preventing them access to the technology may well make them more vulnerable in the long run.

Open non-partisan political debate about these issues is vital if we are to stear our children to understand the world aound them.

Read he full article here. 

 

 

Story:UK to consult on social media ban for under 16s Source: BBC News

 

The clamour  regading restricting access to social media to children is spreading around the world. Australia has recently approved legislation to ban young people under 16 from access to social media. Now the UK is to consult on the same issue.

This BBC story follows an announcement by UK Government to study the views of parents, schools and young people in addition to social media companies and experts in the field which will result in a decision if and how such a ban could be implimented in the UK. 

The report also points to giving Ofsted (Schools Inspectorate in the UK) the power to check policies on phone use when it inspects schools, and it expected schools to be "phone-free by default" as a result of the announcement. This is a major challenge to schools. While many have strict rules, regarding the use of phones, it is a constant challange for many.

It will be interesting to see how this government investigation goes and what is decided regarding legislation.

Read the full story here. 

 

Story:Google accused of ‘grooming’ 13-year-old by telling them to ditch parental controls on their birthdaySource: The Independent

 

Google set its age of independence for children at 13 and this story shows that they believe their view over rides the opinions of parents and carers.

 In this news story it reports that Google has been accused of “grooming” teenagers by emailing under-13s and outlining steps to turn off parental controls on their accounts.

A mother accused the tech giant of “asserting authority” over its teenage users by contacting them and outlining the steps they can take to update their account so that they “get access to more Google apps and services” once they turn 13.

Until children are 13, or the applicable age in their home country, their Google accounts must be managed by their parents - what it calls a “supervised account”. This allows parents to block certain content, control their child’s screen time and view their browsing history.

 Their decision, made knowing nothing about the children, their vulnerabilities or their parents wishes has caused somewhat of an outcry. No doubt this story run for a while but it raises an important issue about who sets such limits and their reasons for choosing a particular age. 

Read the full story here. 

 

Story:AI becoming ‘child sexual abuse machine’ adding to ‘dangerous’ record levels of online abuse, IWF warns Source: Internet Watch Foundation

New data from the IWF raises serious concerns about AI. They start their report with this unnerving statement;

 "AI tools will become “child sexual abuse machines” without urgent action, as “extreme” AI videos fuel record levels of child sexual abuse material found online by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)."

The data, published on January 16 shows 2025 was the worst year on record for online child sexual abuse material found by its analysts, with increasing levels of photo-realistic AI material contributing to the “dangerous” levels.

The UK government, along with other governments, are undertaking urgent discussions with law enforcement, the tech industry and AI specilists to determne what can be done. The platform 'X' (Formerly Twitter) has already fallen foul of regulators when it was discovered that its AI tools were being used to remove clothing from children allowing them to be publsihed online.

Read the full report here.

Story:High screen time limits vocabulary in toddlers, research finds Source BBC News

Parents of under-fives in England are to be offered official advice on how long their children should spend watching TV or looking at computer screens.

Government research  shows that about 98% of children under two were watching screens on a daily basis - with parents, teachers and nursery staff saying youngsters were finding it harder to hold conversations or concentrate on learning.

Children with the highest screen time - around five hours a day - reportedly could say significantly fewer words than those at the other end of the scale who watched for around 44 minutes.

The full report is available from the news item on the BBC website.

The Cybertrust's Family Internet montoring project is clear that starting a discussion with children about online use and managing their time should start early so that it become part of their normal day. 

Giving a child a phone to keep it occupied or to avoid parenting obligations puts children at serious risk and that risk grows over time unless a more moderate usage habit is formed early in life. Our project has published four videos about products that help with monitoring screen time and setting limits.

Read the full news item here.