Digital Safety: Children
Debate between Kanishka Narayan and Seamus Logan(5 days, 11 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Kanishka Narayan
I thank my hon. Friend for the engagement he has done and for sharing the lessons from it across the three areas that he talks about: age restrictions, the ability to wield appropriate consent, and guidance for parents. The central theme is that parents and young people feel a loss of agency, and that is exactly the fundamental focus that this Government have: to restore the agency of people over platforms.
Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)
There remain serious concerns about the ability of children to use livestreaming on social media and the risks and harms that may arise. That issue has been raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) in the past. In addition, Members will be well aware of the risks posed to children by strangers, who are in some cases adults with malevolent and illegal intent. Will the Minister confirm that livestreaming and the protection of children from these predators will fall under the scope of the forthcoming Government response?
Kanishka Narayan
The hon. Member raises important points about livestreaming and what is called stranger pairing, which is the ability for strangers to engage with young people online on a series of platforms. Livestreaming and stranger pairing together seem to me to be an important way in which international criminal networks have undertaken child sexual abuse. It is at the top of our minds as we think about regulating functionalities and features that are some of the most challenging aspects of what drives harm for young people.