Perhaps the noble Baroness could be reminded that Ms Rachel & DannyGo are primarily on YouTube, not BBC1 as she once was; and that actual YT-provided affordances for kids are essential for modern parenting? Quote:
“Also, by relocating to countries with few or no internet safety Laws, children can be exposed to more extreme, illegal or unmoderated content. Perhaps children under 16 should be banned from social media altogether.”
To ask His Majesty’s Government what measures have been put in place to prevent children using virtual private networks to avoid age verification to access harmful material online.
…
I thank the [Minister]…
Perhaps the noble Baroness could be reminded that Ms Rachel & DannyGo are primarily on YouTube, not BBC1 as she once was; and that actual YT-provided affordances for kids are essential for modern parenting? Quote:
“Also, by relocating to countries with few or no internet safety Laws, children can be exposed to more extreme, illegal or unmoderated content. Perhaps children under 16 should be banned from social media altogether.”
To ask His Majesty’s Government what measures have been put in place to prevent children using virtual private networks to avoid age verification to access harmful material online.
…
I thank the Minister for that Answer. However, Childnet has discovered an increase in the use of VPNs by children in the last three months. While younger children are deterred by age-verification checks, teenagers actively seek out and share methods to circumvent them. Many minors are downloading free VPN applications that often monetise user data and expose devices to viruses. Also, by relocating to countries with few or no internet safety Laws, children can be exposed to more extreme, illegal or unmoderated content. Perhaps children under 16 should be banned from social media altogether. What action will the Government take to address the increasing number of children using VPNs? Will they instruct ofcom to follow the lead of the Australian e-safety commissioner and require that digital services check VPN traffic for technical and behavioural red flags that suggest a user in the UK may be a child? Let us act sooner rather than later.
This may be coming from a place of intense concern, but it’s deeply detached from modern reality of parenting and media.
Some of the Excellent Kids’ Content on YouTube
- https://www.youtube.com/@CosmicKidsYoga (yay, Britain!)
- https://www.youtube.com/@DannyGo
- https://www.youtube.com/@msrachel
- https://www.youtube.com/@SesameStreet
- https://www.youtube.com/@SuperSimpleSongs
- https://www.youtube.com/@HeyBear
- https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRober
Elsewhere: A Sunny Day is Coming to YouTube: YouTube’s Expanded Partnership with Sesame Street