ONE of the things the NSPCC is most concerned about, and something we’ve campaigned about for a long time, is the safety of children online.

You might have read recently about the Online Safety Bill, with claims from the Government that it will be robust, and that failure to protect children could see social media bosses face prison. As you’d expect, it’s a little more complicated than that, but the simple fact is this Government has a real opportunity to change the laws and protect children from harm online.

However, the Bill as it currently stands falls short of what we believe is needed to protect young people, and the NSPCC is calling for several changes. We want tech companies to work together to prevent cross-platform risks, where criminals encourage children to move from chatting in an app or game onto an encrypted or unsafe site. We want the Bill to ensure children are protected from seeing harmful content on any site they use, not just sites that admit having a ‘significant’ child user base, and we want children to have a voice in shaping regulation going forward. They’re one of the most vulnerable groups of internet users, after all.

More than 36,000 people have signed our open letter to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries, urging her to seize this opportunity to protect children and young people online. We’d love you to sign the letter too.

The theme of last week’s Safer Internet Day was ‘All fun and Games? Exploring respect and relationships online’, and this year’s event was a great opportunity to kickstart the conversation for parents and carers. Being online plays a hugely important part in young lives, particularly over the pandemic. It provides entertainment and opportunities to learn new skills, and gaming and social media allow them to stay connected with their friends.

For children, the online world is the real world. They may not be able to differentiate between someone they’ve met online gaming and a friend they know from school, and that can be worrying. The NSPCC has created a bespoke workshop, ‘Keeping children safe whilst gaming online’, for parents and carers to help children game safely and spot unhealthy relationships. Visit nspcc.org.uk/onlinesafety

Our experts host workshops where parents, carers and community groups can chat with us about online safety, and learn more about how to help keep children safe online. To find out more or to book a group session, email parentworkshops@nspcc.org.uk