NOW we’re in 2023, we’re closer than ever to ensuring children and young people can be kept safer online, with the Online Safety Bill due to enter its final stages.

The NSPCC has been calling for this legislation for more than four years. In that time, the number of online child sex offences has continued to rise. One of the things we’ve campaigned for is a Bill that holds tech bosses legally responsible for the safety of young people using their platforms. Research shows the public is overwhelmingly in support of these measures, with four in five adults keen to see senior tech managers held legally responsible for stopping children being harmed by social media. As it currently stands, the Bill would only hold tech bosses responsible for failing to give information to Ofcom, not for decisions made by their companies resulting in preventable harm or sexual abuse.

Some people have questioned the need for the Bill, others have called on it to be amended. But bereaved parents whose children have died by suicide after viewing harmful material on social media led the campaign to ensure legislation keeps children as safe as possible online. Using national crime data, the NSPCC estimates more than 23,000 online child sex offences have been recorded by police in England and Wales since the Bill was delayed. Since then MPs including former Home Secretary Priti Patel and Sir William Cash have joined the call on the Government to make amendments needed to ensure senior managers are held responsible if their platforms contributed to the serious harm, abuse, or death of a child when the Bill returns to Parliament this month. We believe these changes would see the UK stand out as the global authority for children’s safety online.

We handed a letter signed by almost 40,000 people to Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan calling for the Bill to properly hold senior managers to account for the safety of sites children use. Campaigners include the NSPCC’s Young People’s Board for Change, who help us ensure young people’s voices are heard. Rachel, 15, a Young People’s board member, said the pressure was largely on young people to keep themselves safe online, but good legislation would put pressure where it could do most good. She said: “Too many children are exposed to content promoting self-harm and eating disorders. It’s become a norm. We need a Bill to hold big tech firms accountable. Without it, young people are on their own. We’ve been on our own for so long online and it’s not working.”

It’s time to ensure 2023 is the year that legislation delivers effective changes.