Damian Hinds MP on protecting children in the digital age

East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds says parents today face an unenviable dilemma: trying to protect their children from the harms of the online world, whilst also wanting them to benefit from tech’s possibilities, and conscious that much of friendship groups’ interaction is online. I hear from many local parents concerned about this area, and it is now getting a lot more attention in parliament too. The landmark legislation is the Online Safety Act which we passed in 2023. Some of that is already in force, some not yet. Last week, a new set of ‘Children’s Codes’ – which come out of the Act – should force more filtering out of more the very most harmful material for children. That is an important step, but we need more.