A leading campaigner has accused the UK government of appeasing big tech companies and being late to regulate social media and artificial intelligence. Crossbench peer Baroness Kidron told the BBC that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer needs to take action rather than launching more consultations.
Baroness Kidron criticized the PM for citing his own experience as a father of two teenage children on social media, arguing that this does not make him an expert on the subject. She also stated that many of the proposals had already been put forward in the House of Lords and could be accepted by the government as soon as next week.
The government has introduced a consultation on banning under-16s from social media and promised to crack down on the addictive elements of the apps. However, Baroness Kidron said that access to children should be conditional on respecting their rights, keeping them safe, and not addicting them.
Sir Keir has spoken about the dangers of social media for young people, but Baroness Kidron believes that the PM is ‘rubbing up against the tech bros’ and giving away children to Silicon Valley. The government has rejected the claims, stating that it has already introduced some of the strongest online safety protections in the world.
