About 18 months ago I sent this letter, along with a copy of my book, to a number of MPs and peers, including Wes Streeting. I never got a response (which to be fair was my baseline expectation), but it’s still disheartening to see today’s news about Haidt’s invitation to speak to policymakers.

Pete Etchells@peteetchells.bsky.social · 2y ago

Here’s the full letter:

There is a growth paradox at the heart of this government. A stronger Online Safety Act could grow the economy by £4bn a year. Read @andyburrows.bsky.social make the case for protecting young people and driving growth in @politicshome.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

A stronger Online Safety Act would protect children and boost the economy

There is a growth paradox at the heart of this government.

politicshome.com

As Meta’s chatbots are shown to lack basic safeguarding protections, a reminder that Ofcom has declined to *take a position* on whether AI chatbots can trigger the illegal safety duties in the #OnlineSafetyAct.

Strong front pages today. It’s clear that Ofcom needs to move away from its ‘gamechanging’ PR claims and start engaging with the deep and substantive concerns being widely expressed by civil society. @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

Interesting (ahem) media round from Peter Kyle: - tells Telegraph he’s interested in a social media curfew - tells LBC he’s open to regulating online game content, even where not user-to-user services - claims Ofcom has started enforcement action against several companies (huge if true)

Today you’ll hear a lot of PR about @ofcom.bsky.social ’s measures to prevent children being algorithmically recommended suicide and self-harm content. In the small print, Ofcom says these apparently sweeping measures… will cost tech firms £3,000 to £20k per annum. @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

Meta claims it now has 54 million active Instagram Teen Accounts. Any journalists want to ask them how many of these are finsta accounts? @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

It’s good news that @ofcom.bsky.social has opened an investigation into a suicide forum linked to more deaths than Grenfell. But the real test is how long it takes to get this site blocked in the U.K. - every day means more vulnerable young lives are at risk www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Online suicide forum investigated under new UK digital safety laws

Ofcom’s first investigation to look into whether site took adequate measures to shield users from illegal content

theguardian.com

Meta announced changes for teens on Instagram and its other products, yet could’ve added DM/live protections years ago. Instead, it rolls them out bit by bit to appease policymakers. Like @andyburrows.bsky.social, I believe we should be getting data on the impact of teen accounts, not PR.

Teen restrictions expand on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger

Helping to protect the handful of teens still using Facebook.

theverge.com

If Playbook’s reporting is correct, this is an appalling sell-out of children’s safety. How many young lives are we prepared to lose to dodge Trump’s tariffs? @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

Written for LBC on the disturbing threats highlighted by @nca-uk.bsky.social today & why we need to see @ofcom.bsky.social step up to close regulatory gaps entirely of their own making @mollyroseorg.bsky.social www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...

‘Com groups’ are spreading suicide and self-harm among teens—why is government action painfully slow?

The National Crime Agency’s stark warning about extremely disturbing online threats being driven by fluid ideologies and extreme violence should serve as an urgent wake-up call.

lbc.co.uk

Really important piece. Those arguing for social media bans neglect the immense toxicity and harm on gaming platforms - and the inevitability that a wave of threats will migrate there if we pull the plug elsewhere. Regulating for safety-by-design is the answer www.theguardian.com/games/2025/m...

Video games can’t escape their role in the radicalisation of young men | Keith Stuart

Those of us who spend our lives gaming can no longer deny knowledge that our online communities are awash with disturbing hate speech and violent rhetoric

theguardian.com

'Adolescence has done an amazing service in facilitating the national conversation about the impact of extreme misogyny and the ways in which online content and online influencers are able to skew the views of teenagers and young boys' - CEO @andyburrows.bsky.social www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...

Netflix hit 'Adolescence' stokes UK parents' anxiety

"Adolescence", the Netflix hit series about a British 13-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of a horrifying crime, has intensified the anxiety of parents worried about toxic and misogynistic influence...

yahoo.com

Underscores the importance of digital sovereignty - the right of the democratic polity to determine how the internet operates within our jurisdiction, not according to the demands of a foreign power www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03...

US tech giants lobby Trump to tackle Australian social media rules

Silicon Valley, whose top executives have cultivated close relationships with Donald Trump, is now pushing him to pressure Australia to relax its regulations or risk retaliation.

abc.net.au

NEW: Months before Google was accused in a lawsuit of facilitating the suicide of a teen user of the Google-tied chatbot startup CharacterAI, researchers at Google DeepMind warned in a paper that chatbots could target minors and manipulate vulnerable users into suicide. futurism.com/google-suici...

Today #OnlineSafetyAct (finally) in force. Regulator Ofcom says platforms have to 'reduce the risk' of priority illegal content on their sites. Er, no. #OnlineSafetyAct says take steps to *prevent* users encountering such content. Significant difference. www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

Enforcing the Online Safety Act: Platforms must start tackling illegal material from today

From today, online platforms must start putting in place measures to protect people in the UK from criminal activity, while Ofcom has launched its latest enforcement programme to assess industry compl...

ofcom.org.uk

Tomorrow should be a watershed moment for online safety. Instead, it appears we are going backwards, Ian Russell writes in today’s Observer @mollyroseorg.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Timid new online safety laws won’t prevent more tragedies like the death of my daughter Molly | Ian Russell

Ofcom’s cautious approach leaves vulnerable young people exposed to online threats such as suicide and self-harm

theguardian.com

I’ve blogged about some of the challenges posed by upcoming UK-US digital trade negotiations, particularly for the Online Safety Act privacyx.substack.com/p/uk-digital...

UK digital regulation - what impact could trade negotiations with the US have?

As UK-US trade negotiations are likely to focus in on technology, how might regulation get thrown into the mix and what options could be on the table?

privacyx.substack.com

Today we’ve learnt chatbots are FOIable, but with 72 hours to go, still don’t know whether they can trigger the illegal duties in the #OnlineSafetyAct. Perhaps the Secretary of State could ask ChatGPT?

Worth reading in full Peter Kyle’s comments to @lbc.co.uk earlier today. A mix of vague assurances and an acceptance he’s planning a ‘piecemeal’ approach to fixing the #OnlineSafetyAct - hardly the decisive action that Ian Russell and other bereaved parents have called for @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

This little vignette from the Trump inauguration parties: ‘We’re letting a lot more stuff through. A lot’ said a member of TikTok’s DC-based policy team.

Molly Rose Foundation is urging the Prime Minster to commit to decisive action to address online harms, including suicide and self-harm grooming. Latest polling reveals overwhelming public support for more to be done to protect young people online. mollyrosefoundation.org/prime-minist...

Tech firms couldn’t win the arguments in Westminster and Brussels, so their new tactic is geopolitics as a route to minimise their regulatory exposure. Let’s see this clearly for what it is. www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

Prime Minister says UK guards free speech ‘preciously’ after Vance criticism

The comments came after an earlier exchange with the US vice president.

standard.co.uk

MRF CEO @andyburrows.bsky.social has called on the Government to commit to a new #OnlineSafetyAct that can strengthen regulation. "If the Government has the ambition and the bravery to fix this Act parents across the country will cheer the Prime Minister on.” www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Ofcom criticised over ‘checklist’ approach to Online Safety Act

The Molly Rose Foundation has called for the Government to step in and strengthen online safety rules.

independent.co.uk

"A ban makes a great headline and seems straightforward, but it isn’t" (Sonia Livingstone) This is a really excellent piece showing why so many people working in this space think that social bans are NOT a viable option www.theguardian.com/media/2025/f...

Social media bans for teens: Australia has passed one, should other countries follow suit?

A block for under-16s would soothe many parents’ concerns, but experts are divided over the evidence in support of it, and how it might work in practice

theguardian.com

For everyone that misses the old days of a @osanetwork.bsky.social thread, it’s worth this reading this from beginning to end. A powerful debate on where the #OnlineSafetyAct is failing and an admission from Govt that @ofcom.bsky.social has prioritised minimising JR risk over ambitious outcomes

Online Safety Act Network@osanetwork.bsky.social · last yr.

⏰ Starting at 930am. Watch it here: parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/... #onlinesafetyact

Pleased to contribute to this thoughtful @stokel.bsky.social deep dive into the calls for smartphone bans alongside @sonialivingstone.bsky.social @peteetchells.bsky.social - @mollyroseorg.bsky.social is clear that they would cause more harm than good. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/f...

Social media bans for teens: Australia has passed one, should other countries follow suit?

A block for under-16s would soothe many parents’ concerns, but experts are divided over the evidence in support of it, and how it might work in practice

theguardian.com

"A strengthened and reworked #OnlineSafetyAct that enforces a Duty of Care on companies is urgently required - otherwise Big Tech will hide behind weak regulations and say they are complying with the law" - our Chief Executive @andyburrows.bsky.social writes for LBC www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...

Social media helped radicalise Axel Rudakubana. MPs must press tech giants for real answers

Today will see representatives from tech companies answer questions from MPs about the role their platforms played in spreading hate, harm and misinformation in the wake of the Southport attack.

lbc.co.uk

Peter Kyle met Meta, Apple, Google and Amazon thirteen times in his first three months in office. A fact worth remembering as the #OnlineSafetyAct urgently needs revisiting www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Starry-eyed minister who's been captured by the Big Tech bros

Despite pressure on his time, Peter Kyle carved out space in his hectic schedule to hold no fewer than four face-to-face meetings with Big Tech lobbyists, where they bent his ear about AI.

dailymail.co.uk