Olly Stephens: Murdered boy's dad welcomes online bill change

Olly Stephens was stabbed to death in Emmer Green in Reading in 2021

The father of a 13-year-old murdered by two schoolboys welcomed changes to a bill that could see tech bosses jailed for failing to protect children online.

Olly Stephens was ambushed and fatally stabbed on 3 January 2021 in Reading over a dispute on social media.

On Monday, the government conceded to calls by nearly 50 Tory MPs for an amendment to the Online Safety Bill.

It would see the introduction of two-year sentences for managers who fail to stop children seeing harmful material.

Two boys, both aged 14, were found guilty of Olly's murder in September 2021 following a trial at Reading Crown Court and a 14-year-old girl admitted manslaughter.

His family have campaigned for stricter online laws to stop harmful content being shared after it transpired the attack on him was planned on 11 social media platforms.

Stuart Stephens told the BBC that law changes were not happening quickly enough

Following the government's promise to introduce the proposals, Olly's father Stuart Stephens said: "It's very positive and something we've been working towards - and working for.

"I'm pleased to see that compromise has been made because that section of the bill - it's about accountability for senior management."

He told the BBC he also believes parents need access to their children's data, adding: "It's brilliant that it's got this far."

Mr Stephens continued: "The content that the perpetrators of Olly's murder saw altered their mindset.

"It's brainwashing in a way, the amount of data that they see which is harmful is changing society."

The bill was an opportunity to "stand up for the next generation", he added.

Changes to the bill would mean managers of sites hosting user-generated content, including social media sites, would be obliged to take "proportionate measures" to stop children seeing harmful material.

Currently the bill would only make managers criminally liable for failing to give information to media regulator Ofcom, which is set to gain wide-ranging powers to police the internet under the new law.