Technology companies must protect children online

Government should intervene to make technology companies such as Facebook and Google protect children online, peers have said.

They were debating a report published in March by the Lords Communications Committee.

The report, Growing up With the Internet, looked at the issues and opportunities faced by children online.

Government spokeswoman Baroness Chisholm agreed technology companies had "a responsibility" to their users.

• Online safety: Internet 'not designed for children'

• Children consuming online time 'like junk food'

• Facebook and Twitter could face 'online abuse levy'

Lord Best, who chaired the committee when the report was published, told peers: "As things stand, the government's approach is positive but does depend on this mighty industry putting its own house in order.

"I do sense a pervasive uneasiness that the internet providers and the huge tech companies, the Googles, Facebooks and the rest, may never do as much as they should without more strenuous government intervention."

The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, said: "It is simply no good for Facebook and others to shrug their shoulders and say they are just a platform upon which others stand and they can't take responsibility for content and the consequences of that content.

"Because if they wished, or if we made them, they could be a ticket-inspector of that platform, offering proper control and management of content."

He added: "Self-regulation does not work. Commercial interest always outflanks care of the child. This must change and government must take a lead."

'Fourth pillar'

The committee's report recommended minimum standards for the industry, including a responsibility to:

• respond quickly to requests by children to take down upsetting content

• provide child-friendly content filters by default

• provide "timeout" functions to allow parents to control the amount of time children spend online

It also called for digital literacy to sit alongside reading, writing and arithmetic as a "fourth pillar" of a child's education, to teach the risks of the internet and help young people develop a "critical" approach to online information.

The government's Internet Safety Strategy, published in October, accepted many of the committee's recommendations, including the incorporation of digital literacy into compulsory relationships and sex education.

The Digital Economy Act of this year also provides a code of practice setting out guidance for social-media providers in relation to conduct on their platforms.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Lord Best said that while the government should be "congratulated" on its new Internet Safety Strategy, "if the tech industry - particularly the internet service providers like Google and Facebook - do not adopt and implement a robust code of practise, the government must legislate to enforce this".

Responding to the government's consultation on its Internet Safety Strategy, Facebook said: "Our priority is to make Facebook a safe place for people of all ages, which is why we spent a long time working with safety experts like the UK Safer Internet Centre, developing powerful tools to help people have a positive experience.

"We welcome close collaboration between industry, experts and government to address this important issue."