An MP has backed the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey in her campaign for stricter social media safeguards for children, warning that parents cannot be expected to monitor their children's online activity around the clock.
Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols said a balance was needed as technology firms currently do not take the responsibility they should. Her comments come after Esther Ghey, Brianna's mother, called for the government to stop children having access to social media apps and to introduce phones for under-16s without such apps.
Brianna, 16, was stabbed to death in February 2023 after being lured to a park in Warrington. Her killers, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, were given life sentences on Friday. They had planned the killing for weeks using a messaging app, and Jenkinson had watched violent and torture videos on the dark web.
Ms Ghey told the BBC it was 'just not doable' for parents to check what children see online. She proposed a law requiring mobile phones for under-16s to be without social media apps, with software that flags inappropriate searches to parents. 'If a child is searching the kind of words that Scarlett and Eddie were searching, it will then flag up on the parent's phone,' she said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declined to say whether the government would consider such a proposal, instead pointing to the Online Safety Act, which requires social media companies to curb illegal content and protect children. 'As a parent, I am always worried about social media and what my young girls are exposed to,' he said, noting that the regulator can levy significant fines on non-compliant companies.
