Tougher rules needed to protect young people online, report warns

Tougher rules needed to protect young people online, report warns 2 hours ago Share Save Hayley Clarke Education reporter Share Save Parliament The government needs to do more to protect young people from violent and harmful content online, a new report suggests. The Youth Select Committee, a parliamentary group of 14 to 19-year-olds, said the Online Safety Act was not robust enough to protect children from being exposed to dangerous material. But the young people on the committee argued against calls to ban social media for under-16s, saying it would prevent people from accessing its benefits, and that young people would find ways around it. The government said it was "making our streets and online spaces safer for children" by delivering its Plan for Change. Wania Eshaal Ahmad, the 15-year-old chair of the committee, said it was "quite abhorrent" that social media algorithms could inadvertently promote violent and harmful content to keep young people engaged. She said some young ... Read full article.