Mr Vaughan had earlier said: “Social media can of course be a wonderful tool, but it’s currently a wild west where there is too much harmful content… being pushed onto young people, and social media companies are simply not doing enough to tackle it.
She warned the document did not address issues around the “myths of the perfect body”, adding: “That’s not hardcore content like online pornography or suicidation videos, it’s the subtle stuff of social media, it’s the addictiveness of it that is really dangerous, and my concern is about the long hours that children are spending on screens, the time spent indoors instead of playing with friends and making real, human connection.”.
Caroline Voaden, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, suggested that the definition of harmful material should extend beyond “hardcore” content into “the long hours that children are spending on screens”, while data protection minister Sir Chris Bryant said users consume “large amounts of utter misinformation”.
Tony Vaughan, the Labour MP for Folkestone and Hythe who introduced the debate in Westminster Hall, spoke to an argument against banning younger teenagers from social media, when he warned poorly thought-out rules could “push children into unregulated and more dangerous online spaces”.
Sir Chris, on behalf of the Government, also pointed to new duties which social media companies must meet next month to protect their users from illegal content, including terrorism.
