Protecting children from pornography is one aim of the online harms bill. But other problems have not been tackled
Among teachers and headteachers, concerns about the influence of misogynistic online content, including violent pornography, are widespread. So last week’s call by Daniel Kebede, the head of the National Education Union, for an inquiry into misogyny in schools is important – although the government is unlikely to act on it. Even during the pandemic, Conservative ministers failed to cultivate the kind of constructive relationship with teaching unions that would lead to such proposals being taken seriously.
Currently, 79% of young people encounter material depicting degrading or pain-inducing sex acts online before they are 18, while a growing body of research points to the damage that this can cause. This is one of the problems that the government’s online harms bill was designed to address. It imposes new duties on tech firms to protect under-18s, while stopping short of compulsory age verification. Ofcom is working on the guidance that will underpin the laws.
