The mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey said she is “frustrated” by the government’s approach to online safety, as reports suggest the Online Safety Bill could be watered down to appease US president Donald Trump.
Esther Ghey spoke to the BBC on Sunday morning about the bill and the death of her 16-year-old daughter, whose murder led to UK-wide protests and vigils.
“While we are… questioning whether it’s strong enough or whether it should be watered down, young people are at harm, and young people are losing their lives,” she said.
“Young people shouldn’t be struggling with mental health because of what they are accessing online, and we really do need to take a hard stance on this.”
Brianna, 16, was murdered by classmate Scarlett Jenkinson and her friend Eddie Ratcliffe. The killers were both 15 at the time of the murder in 2023.
Ms Ghey has previously met prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and his predecessor Rishi Sunak to discuss the issue and has criticised the Online Safety Act, saying that it does not go far enough.
She has campaigned for an age limit on smartphone use, stricter controls on access to social media apps, tougher action on knife crime and for mindfulness to be taught in schools.
On her campaigning work on online safety and trolling, Ms Ghey said she supports a ban on social media for under-16s.
The Online Safety Act could reportedly be watered down as part of US trade negotiations, and the children’s commissioner for England has called for young people to be removed from social media altogether if that happens.
The children’s commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said this week that “if regulation is pulled back on children, if the online safety bill is pulled back on children, then we need children off social media”.
Mr Trump has imposed a 10 per cent tariff on all UK imports to the US, and a 25 per cent tariff on UK cars and car parts.
The UK is pushing for a US trade deal in which they hope to see tariffs eased.
On Sunday morning, chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said that the “basic protections” in the Online Safety Bill “are not up for negotiation”. He said the government “won’t be walking away from” the idea that online platforms need to be designed in a way to protect children from harm.
A government spokesperson said: “The Online Safety Act is about protecting children online from harmful content like self-harm and eating disorders as well as making sure what is illegal offline is illegal online.
“These laws are not part of the negotiation and our priority is getting them in place quickly and effectively, while exploring what more can be done to build a safer online world.”
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