Why Nigel Farage's attack on Online Safety Act should worry every parent

Or his claims about a lack of freedom of speech in the country while picking and choosing which journalists his party speaks to. Or even the obnoxious self-congratulatory launch of his party’s conference.

It was the fact that yet again he took aim at a piece of legislation which aims to tackle one of the most insidious and difficult issues facing modern society. The Online Safety Act came into force in July, with a main aim of making the internet a safer place for all of us, but particularly children and young people.

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Removing harmful content

One of the key measures is the introduction of Protection of Children Codes, designed and regulated by Ofcom. These compel companies running social media platforms, online gaming services and any site displaying harmful material to take stronger action to prevent children’s exposure to it.

This includes faster content moderation and dealing with reports, removing harmful content, and moderating algorithms designed for children. Perhaps the most high-profile change is the need for age-verification checks for age-restricted material such as pornography.

All these steps are vital to ensuring that young people stay safe online. Without it, they will continue to be exposed to inappropriate, sexist, and dangerous material.

Is the Act perfect? Of course not. The fact that it took several years to get to the statute books worries many that it may need to be updated in the near future to keep up with advances. But what it does is attempt to address concerns that so many parents frequently raise with me, and which were reflected in public debate following the TV drama Adolescence.

As smartphone usage increases amongst younger children, so the need for vigilance about content grows. In Edinburgh, the council is consulting on a ban in schools.

Girls silent in class

Ofcom research suggests 99 per cent of 16-17-year-olds now have smartphones, and children as young as eight spend on average three hours a day on screens. A survey by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza, found half of 13-year-olds had seen “hardcore, misogynistic” pornography on their feeds.

In parliament, I heard from teachers, writers and researchers who work with young people as part of a Select Committee inquiry into misogyny online. They told us about classes where girls don’t talk at all for fear of intimidation by some boys. They gave examples of boys being told by online influencers that “asserting power over women” is what girls want.

We heard about a focus group where 75 per cent of girls had experienced so-called ‘cyber-flashing’, the receipt of unsolicited explicit images, before they were 15. And a review of UK pornography regulation, led by Baroness Bertin discovered countless examples of young people viewing violent, misogynistic content, and thinking that behaviour is normal.

All of this is what the Act aims to stop, not in some assault on freedom of speech as Nigel Farage would have it, but to protect our young people. He would do well to spend some time listening to those working to do exactly that.

Christine Jardine is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West