Facebook must do more to protect children, says NSPCC

The children's charity said its showed the majority of adults believed the tech giant was failing in its duty of care to protect children

Three out of four adults nationally do not think Facebook is safe for children, the charity added, saying a quarter in the West Midlands believed it took the safety of children using the site seriously

NSPCC has urged Facebook to rethink encryption plans or face tough sanctions from new regulator after three out of four adults polled said they did not think the site was safe for children.

In the West Midlands, 60 per cent said the social network was failing in its duty of care to protect children. More than three in four adults (76 per cent) don't think the platform is safe for children.

Out of 2,070 adults interviewed nationally, one in five (21 per cent) said the tech giant took the safety of children using the site seriously and nearly two thirds (62 per cent) believed the platform was failing in its duty of care to protect children.

The claims came in an NSPCC/Savanta ComRes poll following the tech giant’s announcement it would encrypt messages on Facebook and Instagram.

The charity previously revealed that instances of Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp being used in child abuse image and online child sexual offences were recorded by the police 11 times a day in 2018/19.

It is now warning the tech giant not to create hiding places for abusers by pressing ahead with encryption plans that don’t have strong safeguards in place.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who admitted his plans would protect the “privacy of people doing bad things”, has failed to give any clear answers in how he intends to stop groomers preying on children on his site, the charity said.

The NSPCC is calling for supporters to sign an open letter to Facebook demanding they put children first as part of its Wild West Web campaign.

Andy Burrows, NSPCC head of child safety online policy, said: “Facebook has been called out for its abject failure to make their platforms safe, yet their encryption plans will give offenders a free pass to abuse children while they look the other way.

“This cavalier approach risks creating a one stop grooming shop if Facebook don’t include strong safeguards that protect children in their encryption plan.

“Boris Johnson must make it clear that upcoming regulation will force Facebook to guarantee children’s safety on its messaging services or be hit hard in the pocket for failing in its duty of care.”