Supporting the Safer Phones Bill

On Friday 7 March, I was in Parliament to support the Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill. Unfortunately, I wasn’t called by the Speaker to give the speech I had prepared, but I have copied this below for information. "I want to thank my honourable friend the member for Whitehaven and Workington for bringing forward this Bill and for working with stakeholders and the government to chart an effective path forward. 

This Bill is necessary – not only because of the influences now, but because of the effects that not legislating will have on the future of our children. Failure to discuss these matters, to act or to provide leadership will have consequences for which we will be held to account. 

I will therefore, speak as a parent, as a former school governor, and as a leader. 

As a parent, I worry. The rapid rise of malign influences on our children, which is increasing and taking many, many forms. 

First and foremost in my mind – as we approach International Women’s Day - are the far-right misogynists who are preying on our boys, exploiting their anxieties in these challenging times. 

Alongside this is the influence of violent pornography – and I believe that we must see these together.  

Because exposure to violent pornography is far more likely to have a negative impact on boys and the way they see women and sexual relationships if they are also being exposed to voices who present women as objects for conquest and present healthy relationships with women as actually shameful and pathetic. 

But this is not just about particular types of content, but also the ways that content is being created and consumed on social media. Because this is a fundamental change to how our children behave and interact with each other.  

Some of the breakdowns in society that we are seeing like the readiness to resort to violence and the extreme nature of that violence is down to how we’ve reduced our ability to empathise with each other, which in its deepest forms becomes dehumanisation. 

We have always had stereotypes and bigotry, but it is all too easy for these to flourish, even in a society where freedom, tolerance and respect for others are celebrated, if our children are primarily interacting with others through screens and machines. 

It is even worse if those stereotypes, prejudices and misinformation are actively being promoted by the platforms on which interactions occur. How are our children supposed to truly see each other for who they are under these circumstances? 

As a parent, my experience has been that it’s important to instill in our children the fundamental values of empathy and respect at home. 

But this isn’t always possible, particularly when parents are challenged through work or family breakdown. And we all need to understand that however much we shape our children as parents, the influences from peers and from their environment are probably greater in impact. 

So, we need social protections to back up our families, including to address the fact that many children are going to want these devices in place if their peers have access to them.  

And the primary space that should be that safe harbour is the school. 

That’s why it’s so important that the government provides guidance that ensures that parents are supported in these endeavours and understand better how to respond to the threat of peer pressure.  

But equally the guidance is essential for schools to understand the basic steps that are necessary to be that safe harbour, rather than another place where the same pressures children experience online are just applied again. 

As a Governor for many years, the approach taken to addressing the impacts of phones in schools has to be something that enables decisions based on the school’s individual circumstances.  

That’s why I don’t think that a hard ban will be effective, instead we need the advice and guidance from experts so that the decisions that are made are informed by the best evidence available, in way that can be explained both to children and to school staff. 

Having met children and young people in my constituency of Leyton and Wanstead, at schools like Connaught Girls or the school council at Wanstead High School, there is a general recognition from our children about the need for support in how they navigate the online world. 

They themselves are aware of the influence of things like child pornography, and they are asking our leaders to come in and speak against predators like Tate and against these malign influences. 

Our children don’t know what they don’t know, and regardless of the legislation, our children will also need positive role models and guidance, so this Bill is just the first step in trying to redress the balance and society as a whole. 

Every night of this week past, I have written in hand to each of the handwritten letters I’ve received from the children of George Mitchell Primary School in Leyton who have written to me as part of a module on persuasive writing.  

Each of these letter shows consideration of the issues, and a logical considered approach to an answer. They are not typed, they have not used AI, they have had to formulate a reasoned argument, and communicate it, with passion and reason, and not in 120 characters.  

This is inspiring, and the leadership we need to improve our discourse and interactions. Ensuring we develop our children’s fundamental skills and teaching them the importance of learning how to understand and navigate the world.  

A huge part of that is epistemology, because knowing how we know things, and arguing well is an antidote to the misinformation and lazy, unempathetic ways of interacting that are typical of social media. So well done year 4. 

Finally, it is so important for us to recognise that many of the consequences of algorithmic social media on our children may manifest in years to come, and won’t yet be fully visible or understood. 

To ensure that this issue is managed, we must do our best to look forward, consult with the experts, recognise the risks, and show leadership now to protect our children and our society."

Organisations supporting the Safer Phones Bill