About 18 months ago I sent this letter, along with a copy of my book, to a number of MPs and peers, including Wes Streeting. I never got a response (which to be fair was my baseline expectation), but it’s still disheartening to see today’s news about Haidt’s invitation to speak to policymakers.

There is a growth paradox at the heart of this government. A stronger Online Safety Act could grow the economy by £4bn a year. Read @andyburrows.bsky.social make the case for protecting young people and driving growth in @politicshome.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

As Meta’s chatbots are shown to lack basic safeguarding protections, a reminder that Ofcom has declined to *take a position* on whether AI chatbots can trigger the illegal safety duties in the #OnlineSafetyAct.

Strong front pages today. It’s clear that Ofcom needs to move away from its ‘gamechanging’ PR claims and start engaging with the deep and substantive concerns being widely expressed by civil society. @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

Interesting (ahem) media round from Peter Kyle: - tells Telegraph he’s interested in a social media curfew - tells LBC he’s open to regulating online game content, even where not user-to-user services - claims Ofcom has started enforcement action against several companies (huge if true)

Today you’ll hear a lot of PR about @ofcom.bsky.social ’s measures to prevent children being algorithmically recommended suicide and self-harm content. In the small print, Ofcom says these apparently sweeping measures… will cost tech firms £3,000 to £20k per annum. @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

Meta claims it now has 54 million active Instagram Teen Accounts. Any journalists want to ask them how many of these are finsta accounts? @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

It’s good news that @ofcom.bsky.social has opened an investigation into a suicide forum linked to more deaths than Grenfell. But the real test is how long it takes to get this site blocked in the U.K. - every day means more vulnerable young lives are at risk www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Meta announced changes for teens on Instagram and its other products, yet could’ve added DM/live protections years ago. Instead, it rolls them out bit by bit to appease policymakers. Like @andyburrows.bsky.social, I believe we should be getting data on the impact of teen accounts, not PR.

If Playbook’s reporting is correct, this is an appalling sell-out of children’s safety. How many young lives are we prepared to lose to dodge Trump’s tariffs? @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

Written for LBC on the disturbing threats highlighted by @nca-uk.bsky.social today & why we need to see @ofcom.bsky.social step up to close regulatory gaps entirely of their own making @mollyroseorg.bsky.social www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...

Really important piece. Those arguing for social media bans neglect the immense toxicity and harm on gaming platforms - and the inevitability that a wave of threats will migrate there if we pull the plug elsewhere. Regulating for safety-by-design is the answer www.theguardian.com/games/2025/m...

'Adolescence has done an amazing service in facilitating the national conversation about the impact of extreme misogyny and the ways in which online content and online influencers are able to skew the views of teenagers and young boys' - CEO @andyburrows.bsky.social www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...

Underscores the importance of digital sovereignty - the right of the democratic polity to determine how the internet operates within our jurisdiction, not according to the demands of a foreign power www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03...

NEW: Months before Google was accused in a lawsuit of facilitating the suicide of a teen user of the Google-tied chatbot startup CharacterAI, researchers at Google DeepMind warned in a paper that chatbots could target minors and manipulate vulnerable users into suicide. futurism.com/google-suici...

Today #OnlineSafetyAct (finally) in force. Regulator Ofcom says platforms have to 'reduce the risk' of priority illegal content on their sites. Er, no. #OnlineSafetyAct says take steps to *prevent* users encountering such content. Significant difference. www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

Tomorrow should be a watershed moment for online safety. Instead, it appears we are going backwards, Ian Russell writes in today’s Observer @mollyroseorg.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I’ve blogged about some of the challenges posed by upcoming UK-US digital trade negotiations, particularly for the Online Safety Act privacyx.substack.com/p/uk-digital...

Today we’ve learnt chatbots are FOIable, but with 72 hours to go, still don’t know whether they can trigger the illegal duties in the #OnlineSafetyAct. Perhaps the Secretary of State could ask ChatGPT?

Worth reading in full Peter Kyle’s comments to @lbc.co.uk earlier today. A mix of vague assurances and an acceptance he’s planning a ‘piecemeal’ approach to fixing the #OnlineSafetyAct - hardly the decisive action that Ian Russell and other bereaved parents have called for @mollyroseorg.bsky.social

This little vignette from the Trump inauguration parties: ‘We’re letting a lot more stuff through. A lot’ said a member of TikTok’s DC-based policy team.

Molly Rose Foundation is urging the Prime Minster to commit to decisive action to address online harms, including suicide and self-harm grooming. Latest polling reveals overwhelming public support for more to be done to protect young people online. mollyrosefoundation.org/prime-minist...

Tech firms couldn’t win the arguments in Westminster and Brussels, so their new tactic is geopolitics as a route to minimise their regulatory exposure. Let’s see this clearly for what it is. www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

MRF CEO @andyburrows.bsky.social has called on the Government to commit to a new #OnlineSafetyAct that can strengthen regulation. "If the Government has the ambition and the bravery to fix this Act parents across the country will cheer the Prime Minister on.” www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

"A ban makes a great headline and seems straightforward, but it isn’t" (Sonia Livingstone) This is a really excellent piece showing why so many people working in this space think that social bans are NOT a viable option www.theguardian.com/media/2025/f...

For everyone that misses the old days of a @osanetwork.bsky.social thread, it’s worth this reading this from beginning to end. A powerful debate on where the #OnlineSafetyAct is failing and an admission from Govt that @ofcom.bsky.social has prioritised minimising JR risk over ambitious outcomes

Pleased to contribute to this thoughtful @stokel.bsky.social deep dive into the calls for smartphone bans alongside @sonialivingstone.bsky.social @peteetchells.bsky.social - @mollyroseorg.bsky.social is clear that they would cause more harm than good. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/f...

"A strengthened and reworked #OnlineSafetyAct that enforces a Duty of Care on companies is urgently required - otherwise Big Tech will hide behind weak regulations and say they are complying with the law" - our Chief Executive @andyburrows.bsky.social writes for LBC www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...

Peter Kyle met Meta, Apple, Google and Amazon thirteen times in his first three months in office. A fact worth remembering as the #OnlineSafetyAct urgently needs revisiting www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Peter Kyle just told the BBC that the #OnlineSafetyAct will cover AI safety risks. Meanwhile a month before it comes into force, Ofcom still hasn’t confirmed whether a AI chatbot could actually trigger the illegal safety duties.

Meta will start scanning links in private messages for more use cases. It’s very welcome - but it also shows their reluctance to do client side scanning to tackle child sexual abuse isn’t about technical infeasibility, it’s a choice. Paging @ofcom.bsky.social abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/vid...

It’s inexplicable that Ofcom chooses not to powers explicitly amended into the #OnlineSafetyAct to tackle small but high-harm platforms when a suicide forum linked to almost 100 UK deaths continues to cause preventable harm @mollyroseorg.bsky.social www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

This is truly despicable. More seriously, the decision to present this to non-US users should raise eyebrows.

Good news. The Government should recognise that protecting children and promoting growth can go hand-in-hand, and be ready to unequivocally stand up for the UK’s children and families. www.independent.co.uk/business/no-...

Appalling example of a chatbot providing detailed instructions and encouragement for suicide. Six weeks from the #OnlineSafetyAct taking effect, @ofcom.bsky.social still won’t say if this will trigger the illegal safety duties @mollyroseorg.bsky.social www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/06/1...

Chris articulates the question that so many of us have been asking for some time now. @cleanuptheinternet.org.uk @andyburrows.bsky.social

Two fascinating graphs showing the AI bubble in action: market capitalisation is soaring ahead of the early days of the web, but private sector R&D is lagging far behind previous comparable tech breakthroughs

This is a great upsum of why civil society is so concerned about Ofcom’s flawed application of the #OnlineSafetyAct

With 1 in 10 young people now identifying as gay or bisexual, it’s worth remembering they face sharply increased risk of online abuse. And time for @stonewalluk.bsky.social to reconsider their inexplicable opposition to legislation tackling online sexual violence www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Hey Chat GPT, show me what delicious irony looks like

Meta’s changes threaten the safety & mental health of young people. That’s why @mollyroseorg.bsky.social has written to @ofcom.bsky.social urging them to fast track stronger measures in its Code of Practice www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

" @ofcom.bsky.social must send a clear signal it is willing to act in the interests of children and urgently strengthen its requirements on tech platforms." #onlinesafetyact www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

This feels like another period when more Meta whistleblowers must be on the brink. And when the internal emails are telling a story which we’ll all come to see in due course. www.wsj.com/business/med...

Stronger online safety regulation is more urgent than ever post- Southport, but also unashamedly pro-growth: DSIT’s data suggests a 15% reduction in exposure to harm delivers a near £4 bn annualised benefit. @mollyroseorg.bsky.social wrote to the Chancellor: mollyrosefoundation.org/wp-content/u...

POV your net worth is greater than the annual GDP of 154 countries but your whole identity is tied to nonstop growth so you have to continually debase yourself before the world to keep the numbers going up www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Generative AI taken down like a Borg cube. Magnificent. (One for you @willperrin.bsky.social)

We really welcome this important intervention from @eddavey.libdems.org.uk: it’s time to make our online safety laws fit for purpose, because it’s clear that the tech bros won’t act themselves @mollyroseorg.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

When Nick Clegg attempts to build his post-Meta career as an elder statesman, remember this. Standing behind changes that allow people to be called ‘filth’ and LGBTQ+ people ‘mentally ill.’ www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

As @theguardian.com reports, @mollyroseorg.bsky.social first warned @ofcom.bsky.social of the risks of fluid ideologies fuelling suicide and self-harm grooming a year ago. Our calls for urgent action fell on deaf ears. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...