Regulating to Minimise Harm to Children and Young People

The potential problems arising from social media and search have become increasingly apparent. Political will to tackle these issues has been somewhat uncertain despite the Government claiming to want to make the UK the safest place in the world to go online. This chapter outlines the development of the Online Safety Bill, assessing the level of protection for children and for young adults likely to result after the Bill receives royal assent. While the Bill provides significant protection for children, there are points of weakness as the emphasis is on exclusion of children from some online spaces rather than ensuring they are (re)-designed with children in mind. For young adults the position is much worse; they face a cliff edge in protection as they transfer to a self-help regime which does not adequately recognise their vulnerabilities.