In response to the publication of the Government’s consultation on children’s social media, and the release of the documentary Molly vs. the Machines, ISBA has released the following comment.
ISBA welcomes the launch today of the Government’s consultation on measures to protect children on social media. This is timely as we are all reminded of Molly Russell’s story.
Molly vs. the Machines is an important, moving and powerful film. It exposes clear failures by the social media platforms to protect their users from harm. In addition, it presents the case that the algorithms used by social media platforms can result in individuals, like Molly, being served a stream of harmful content.
ISBA has supported proportionate regulation of the tech platforms since 2017. With the Online Safety Act coming into force, our hope is that enforcement will mean that more is done to remove the kind of inappropriate and harmful content that children and young people are often exposed to. If it does not prove to be sufficient, ISBA will continue to work with the industry and Government - as it has always done - to ensure that advertisers concerns are reflected in any efforts to revisit the law.
Advertisers do not want to appear next to or near to harmful content, or to inadvertently monetise it. They want to understand platforms’ policies on what content they disallow, and how those platforms are working to detect, remove, and prevent it. This information allows them to make their own, informed decisions about where they place their advertising.
We will continue to work with and constructively challenge the social media platforms on behalf of our members. It goes without saying that platforms are expected to comply with the requirements of the Online Safety Act and to be clear and transparent about the environment they are selling to advertisers.