Technology giants have prioritised profit over the safety of two generations of teenagers, according to Britain’s equivalent of the FBI, who are now backing a ban on social media for under-16s.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) stated that the pervasive online dangers faced by children are unsurprising, given that technology companies have “chosen not to make child safety a core principle” in their product design.
Both the NCA and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) are advocating for a ban on social media use for those under 16, unless platforms implement significant changes to their “high-risk” features.
This significant intervention precedes the closure next week of the government’s public consultation on whether to introduce such a ban.
Graeme Biggar, the NCA director general, said: “The online environment, in its current form, is not safe for the children.
“The problem we see has been getting worse, not better, and that is because the companies have chosen not to make child safety a core design principle.
“It’s unrealistic to expect tech companies to prioritise safety over profit unless we legislate to make them do so. When the market fails, the Government has to step in.
“We have already failed two generations of teenagers by abandoning them to the dangers of social media without any form of social safety net.
“The longer we wait, the slower we go, the more children we fail.”
The six “high-risk” features he identified include the mass discoverability of children online, unrestricted contact from unknown adults, encrypted messaging, algorithms that promote harmful content, nude image sharing or screening, and weak age verification processes.
The NCA and NPCC say the Government should ban under-16s from accessing platforms that do not change these features.
They also propose the Government legislates to introduce nudity controls on devices so that children under 18 cannot take, share or view nude images or videos, and give Ofcom more power to enforce age verification.
The NPCC said the online world is currently a “Wild West” where criminals can roam free, and while the decision to back a ban for under-16s was regrettable, it was absolutely necessary.
Gavin Stephens, NPCC chief constable, said: “If I’ve got one big worry for the future, it’s the fact that we don’t have a grip of this risk to our children and vulnerable people.
“The online world remains something of a Wild West, where the legislation and the regulation have not kept up with the pace of the technology.
“It is a sad truth, but criminals, abusers, fraudsters and extremists roam free in this world.”
However, he added that he is hopeful that the possibility of a ban would incentivise these platforms to change.
The chief constable said: “The features have been designed by humans, and it is not beyond human wit to design these things out.
“But what those brilliant people need is the right leadership and the right corporate incentives for companies to invest some of the profits that they’re making into the safety of children.
“We firmly believe that restrictions are needed to be a catalyst for tech companies to make these essential changes.”
Mr Stephens added: “From a police perspective, there are lots of great benefits of the online world, but, as things currently stand, we think that negatives are far outweighing the benefits, in the absence of these safeguards.”
Last year, the NCA received 92,000 reports of potential child sexual abuse activity online from tech companies, a fourfold increase in the last seven years. The NCA estimates there are between 710,000 and 840,000 adults in the UK who pose some degree of sexual risk to children.
Both agencies reiterated that enforcement and punishment for any ban should not be focused on criminalising children or parents.
Mr Stephens said: “If the restrictions are imposed, we fully expect and understand that children may feel penalised and may want to rebel against this, and when they do so, I wanted to reinforce the message that we are not here to criminalise anyone.
“We want them to be protected. We want to have avenues to report that abuse and criminality, and we want to create a world where they are safe.”
The “growing up in an online world” consultation, which closes on May 26, invited young people and their parents and guardians to submit comments.
The debate over a minimum age for social media use has been triggered by Australia’s decision last year to ban children from a range of platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok.
