Education chief Norma Foley issues social media ban warning for kids amid ‘inappropriate content’ alert for parents | CB51DXX | 2024-05-02 00:08:02
Education chief Norma Foley issues social media ban warning for kids amid 'inappropriate content' alert for parents | CB51DXX | 2024-05-02 00:08:02
EDUCATION Minister Norma Foley today warns she could outlaw social media for under-13s if tech giants don't act to stop underage kids from creating accounts.
The Fianna Fail TD told The Irish Sun: "Our first duty is to protect children."
And the Education Minister is pleading with parents NOT to buy smartphones for their children until after they leave primary school.
A survey from CyberSafeKids found that almost one quarter of six-year-olds in Ireland have one, while 45 per cent of ten-year-olds are allowed to use their phones unsupervised in their bedrooms.
Last year, parents at a school in Greystones, Co Wicklow, came together to agree that none of them would buy their child a smartphone until they were 12 — which got rid of the idea kids would see their pal with a phone and want one too.
The Government jumped on the idea and have sent out guidelines to help parent groups set up similar agreements in their own schools.
Over recent months, Minister Foley has engaged with schools and parents groups about implementing a voluntary smartphone ban.
And she told The Irish Sun she has heard about cases where young children have been the victim of sextortion by sickos pretending to be a child on social media.
In another horrifying case raised with Minister Foley, she was told of a primary school class where pupils had a Snapchat group that was flooded with inappropriate content, including porn.
She said: "We have children as young as six and seven years of age and they are being exposed to content no parent or guardian would want them to see.
"Children are being groomed where an adult is engaging with them on the pretence they are a young person and they are sharing content that's wholly inappropriate."
In response, Minister Foley is urging parents not to buy their child a phone until they leave primary school.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> She says many schools have already signed up to the new voluntary ban.
And in one area in Co Kerry, two neighbouring schools got together to offer kids a trip to the cinema as a reward for giving up smartphones until secondary school.
Minister Foley said: "I'm not saying to parents to permanently deny them a phone. I'm saying defer it.
"Defer it until at least the child has left primary school and know why I'm asking you to do that."
But some parents have criticised the Government's voluntary ban as not going far enough, saying it's just passing the buck to parents.
Asked why she doesn't introduce legislation for a mandatory ban on smartphones for primary kids, Minister Foley said: "The real issue is adults are purchasing the phone for children.
"So therefore what we're saying in this first step is — know what's happening when you give smartphones to a child. Know what they can be exposed to, know what can happen and then make the decision. I think in education that needs to be our first priority to provide the information, provide the education.
MEETING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA BOSSES
"If ultimately, that isn't working I take nothing off the table but I do think we have an obligation for parents to be informed."
However, the Fianna Fail TD believes social media companies need to take more responsibility for their platforms and work to keep young kids off their platforms.
Sites such as Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram all require children to be older than 13 to set up a profile. However, youngsters can easily get around this rule.
Earlier this year, Minister Foley met with executives from social media companies to ask them to tighten up their age barriers to stop kids getting onto their platforms.
But the firms did not commit to making any real changes to age restrictions — leaving the minister frustrated with their lack of help.
She said: "I have heard them come forward with suggestions that there is a responsibility for the EU, there is a responsibility for the app store — so there's responsibility everywhere else except with their platforms and I don't accept that at all. I absolutely don't accept that.
"As far as I'm concerned, each one of them have an obligation and a duty of care to young people.
"So they have to, they have to implement age verification."
</div> </div> The Government recently set up media regulator Coimisiun Na Mean which has the power to issue fines of up to €20million to internet companies if they breach an online safety code that includes protecting children from harmful content.
However, this is currently being challenged in the courts by web platforms including Reddit and Tumblr.
And the minister believes the Government needs to get tough on social media firms in order to force them to finally take their responsibilities more seriously when it comes to protecting kids.
Asked by The Irish Sun if she will try to bring in legislation to force them to take kids off their platforms, she warned: "Ultimately if that's what we have to do then that's what we have to do."
<!--googleoff: all--> <blockquote class="article__quote"> </blockquote> <!--googleon: all--> And quizzed if it was possible to outlaw social media for children under 12, she said: "We're in the place at the minute where we're asking for everybody's co-operation.
"But I would take nothing off the table. I am absolutely open to that. This is the first step we're taking. We have asked for co-operation.
"We have asked for individual responsibility to be accepted and again, if you don't do that, there can be €20million of a fine.
"And if you don't do that then I think we have to be open to looking at every possible avenue here. Our first duty is to protect children."
Ireland is currently home to the EU HQs of many of these social media and internet companies with legislation introduced here possibly having a knock-on impact for the companies' operations in Europe.
Asked if legislation to keep young kids off social media could have an impact across the continent, the minister said: "That's something that would have to be worked through but I don't think we should be afraid to do what we need to do.
"And if this is what it takes then this is what it takes."
She added: "I meet with parents on a regular basis and I know how frustrated, how concerned and how worried they are."
More >> https://ift.tt/vJ95Uqm Source: MAG NEWS
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