Nick Clegg calls for 'proper age verification for all apps our kids use’ and Facebook should be doing more
Sir Nick Clegg - who had a major role at Facebook - has told LBC he wants more robust, industry-wide age verification for children using social media apps.
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The Former Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats became Facebook's head of global affairs after his frontline political career ended.
Sir Nick has published a new book entitled ‘How to Save the Internet’ following his role at the tech giant.
Speaking with LBC for Online Safety Day, Mr Clegg said he wants a ‘watertight way of determining the age at which there is a change.
“You have to have watertight age verification.
“You have to determine someone’s age so that they are then only exposed if they’re under a certain age threshold, to the right kind of much safer experiences.
“I think at the moment… we’ve missed an opportunity for proper age verification on all apps that our kids use, through the so-called ‘app stores’ and I think that’s not being done.”
He also said there is room for improvement at Meta.
Sir Nick was probed by Nick Ferrari on Meta's efforts to improve safety, and was asked: “Can you tell me father-to-father, hand-on-heart the company is doing everything it can for online safety?"
He responded: “Hand on heart, I’m not going to say everything. I wouldn’t feel comfortable.
“Of course you can do more, in fact I think there is more to be done.
"I'm not going to say everything, no."
He added Meta are doing "far, far more than they did", which he believes he played a "prominent role" in.
Sir Nick also believes young people have a "completely difference experience" online now than teenagers did some years ago.
He believes the Online Safety Act "missed an opportunity" to implement a "watertight age verification" system.
Sir Nick stepped down from his position at the tech goliath in January after almost seven years.
It came just weeks before Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term as President.
The US President has repeatedly accused Meta and other platforms of censorship and silencing conservative speech.
His relations with found Mark Zuckerberg have been particularly strained, after Facebook and Instagram suspended Trump's accounts for two years back in 2021.