Crimes of Communicating a Sexual Message to Children

That the Parliament notes reports that information provided by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) indicates that crimes of communicating a sexual message to a child have risen by 80% in the last five years, reaching the highest ever number; understands that offenders are exploiting design features on apps that are popular with children as a way of grooming them; notes that the NSPCC is urging the UK Government to ensure that the Online Safety Bill matches the scale of the threat of abuse; understands that, in the second half of 2020, Facebook reportedly removed less than half of the child abuse content that it had previously due to two technology failures; welcomes the recent safety announcements from companies such as Instagram, Apple and TikTok, but considers that tech firms are playing catch-up in responding to the threat after years of what it considers poorly designed sites, and supports the NSPCC’s calls for robust legislation to keep children safe now and in the future.