Grieving dad and mom to be given proper to entry kid’s social media, Labour says

Grieving parents will be allowed to access their childrens’ social media under new laws Labour will bring in, Yvette Cooper said.

The Shadow Home Secretary vowed to change the law as quickly as possible if the party comes to power. It would allow parents whose children die to see if they had accessed harmful content online.

The new legislation was going through Parliament before Rishi Sunak called a General Election, meaning it was ditched. Ms Cooper said “we do need to pursue this again”, saying the party would do “as fast as legislation is possible” if they win the election.

Tory Health Secretary Victoria Atkins also said she had “enormous sympathy” for the families and if it was her decision alone it would be a “big yes” for the Tories’ election manifesto. Under Labour plans, coroners will have more powers to access information held by tech firms after a child dies.

It comes amid fears families are being “stonewalled” as they try to find out what their child accessed before their death. Shadow Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Bereaved families have shown tremendous courage in their battle to get more access to information from tech companies after the deaths of their loved ones.

“The Conservatives repeatedly watered down and stalled the promises they made to them until it was too late for them to pass legislation because of when Rishi Sunak chose to call the election. The Health Secretary Victoria Atkins refused to commit that the Conservatives would bring these powers into place if elected.”

It comes as the dad of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life after seeing harmful material online has called for tech giants to “pay to help clean up the mess they’ve caused”.

Molly Russell ’s father Ian wants politicians to back a one-off windfall tax on social media firms that are “monetising misery”. Mr Russell urged Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak to be “bolder and braver and stand up to these tech powerhouses”.

He told the Mirror the first week of the election campaign had led him to believe the Online Safety Act is being left “gathering dust on the top shelf”.

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The Molly Rose Foundation, a suicide prevention charity that Mr Russell help set up in memory of his daughter, toay sets out a manifesto for politicians with five key demands. They include imposing a windfall tax on tech giants, investing more in education and mental health support and forcing tech firms to be more transparent.

Taxpayers are currently footing the bill while officials figure out how to regulate tech firms but Mr Russell wants a one-off windfall tax imposed on social media giants to help kickstart the process. The levy would be slapped on companies that rake in profits after recommending harmful content through clever computer algorithms.

Molly, from Harrow, in north west London, saw more than 2,000 harmful posts about suicide, self-harm and depression in the last six months of her life in 2017.

“When you’re dealing with some of the most powerful global platforms, some of the richest global platforms, we absolutely believe that it’s those companies that should pay to help clean up the mess that they’ve caused,” Mr Russell said. “We know that the age of self-regulation has completely failed because the platform’s prioritise their profits. They don’t mind monetising misery.

“Someone from the Treasury could work out a suitable levy of global revenue or something that would help contribute towards making the digital world safer.”

The funds raised through the tax would be invested in prevention and education programmes and direct support for children affected by online harms. The charity is also calling for a new Online Safety Act. While the Act became law in October, media regulator Ofcom isn’t expected to be able to use new powers to protect kids online until the end of next year(2025) at the earliest.

Mr Russell said it “shouldn’t be a shock” to call for updated online safety laws “when you’re dealing with an industry that evolves and develops as quickly as tech”. They are also demanding app stores and social media companies work better together and stop “passing the buck” when it comes to making sure underage kids can’t access certain platforms.

“I know only too well the horrible and life-changing effects that online harms can produce and I will do everything I possibly can to prevent tragedies like Molly’s happening again,” Mr Russell said. “They happen all too frequently and I meet month by month, week by week, I meet too many parents who have found themselves in very similar situations and it’s heartbreaking.

“That’s why we need to not neglect this, not leave it on the top shelf, and we need to remember that this isn’t a job that’s finished yet. “Whoever becomes Prime Minister on July 5th must prioritise the safety of our children and ensure that no more families are left to live the rest of their lives mourning the loss of a child taken before their time.”