Government pushes tech firms on child safety as summit approaches
The government will host a summit on Monday to discuss keeping children safe online, as pressure mounts on technology companies to address risks posed by social media and AI.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and the NSPCC will meet young people at the Childhood in the Age of AI summit in Sussex to gather their views on how technology is affecting childhood. Policymakers, tech industry representatives and online safety campaigners will also attend.
The summit follows a Downing Street meeting on Thursday where Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told executives from Meta, Snap, Google, TikTok and X that the status quo is unacceptable. "Things can't go on like this, they must change because right now social media is putting our children at risk," he said.
Consultation response rates lag among young people
The government is pushing for more responses to an ongoing consultation on child online safety. Nearly 50,000 people have responded so far, but only around 6,000 are children-a gap Kendall wants to close before the consultation closes in five weeks.
The government has specifically targeted families in the Midlands, North West, Yorkshire, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where response rates are lower relative to population size.
Social media ban remains unresolved
The consultation will test public opinion on banning social media for under-16s, a proposal that has twice passed the House of Lords but been rejected by MPs. The consultation will also examine how to limit addictive design features in AI chatbots and games.
Kendall said: "We are determined to keep you safe online and prepare you for the future. It's not a question of if we will act but how."
Since Thursday's meeting, the Prime Minister has written to global social media executives asking them to dedicate resources to protecting young users.
For government professionals involved in policy, regulation or digital strategy, this initiative signals a shift toward stricter oversight of tech platforms. Understanding the consultation process and the summit's outcomes will be relevant to future regulatory frameworks.
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