Liz Jarvis

I would like to start by thanking the hundreds of parents in my constituency who have written to me about this important issue. For too long, tech companies have treated children as data to be mined, rather than young people to be protected. We cannot let social media bosses off the hook for the way they have normalised harm, prioritised profit and ignored warning signs. We cannot keep allowing them to act with impunity in putting our children at risk or continuing to escape scot-free while the consequences of their business models are borne by families, schools and already overstretched public services. As we have heard, harmful content and addictive algorithms are taking a profound emotional and psychological toll, contributing to rising levels of anxiety, depression and self-harm. The dangers cannot and should not be underestimated. It beggars belief that the tech companies have been able to operate without proper regulation. At the heart of this debate must be the children and young people who have been subjected to appalling online harms. ChatGPT has reportedly given extremely harmful answers to young people experiencing a mental health crisis, while other AI chatbots possess capabilities to foster intense and unhealthy relationships with vulnerable users and to validate dangerous impulses. As we have heard, it has also been reported that ChatGPT and Grok chatbots are advising children with potential eating disorders on dangerous meal plans of just 600 calories a day. This is terrifying. Although I recognise the difficulties in policing everything online, will the Minister consider establishing a cross-Government approach to ensure that mental health support is expanded and to equip public services to respond effectively to social media-related harms? Can he also clarify whether Ofcom is being given the resources to meet the scale of the challenge and oversee the rapid evolution of online technologies?