Parents 'powerless' over children's use of social media, Kate Winslet says

3 December 2022, 17:10 | Updated: 3 December 2022, 17:15

The Titanic actress attends a press junket in London on Thursday
The Titanic actress attends a press junket in London on Thursday. Picture: Getty

By Adam Solomons

Kate Winslet has urged social media firms to enforce age restrictions as she said parents feel "utterly powerless" to protect their children online.

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The Hollywood actress said social media is "frightening to parents because we don't really know what's there".

She told the BBC: "We don't know really what's going on in their friendship groups anymore because so much of it is actually built on phones, inside phones.

"This world that you can burrow deeper and deeper into it, and it becomes darker and trickier and much, much harder for children to navigate.

"I think because people, young children, are having phones at a much earlier age, they're able to access things that emotionally they're just not equipped or sophisticated enough to know how to process."

READ MORE: Protect children or pay the price, Culture Sec warns social media giants

READ MORE: TikTok star Mahek Bukhari and others face re-trial in 2023 after all 12 jurors discharged

Winslet stars in a new Channel 4 drama about a single mother whose 17-year-old daughter struggles with her mental health, with problems exacerbated by social media.

Winslet said social media firms must enforce age requirements
Winslet said social media firms must enforce age requirements. Picture: PA

The Titanic star added: "I do wish that our government would crack down on it. I do wish that there would be certain platforms that were banned before a certain age. I wish that security checks would be much more rigorous."

She also said there should be "more protection and accountability" as parents "are left flailing".

Winslet's warning comes after the culture secretary urged social media firms to work harder to protect children online or face "severe punishments" including hefty fines.

The parents of 14-year-old Molly Russell blamed social media firms for the teenager's suicide
The parents of 14-year-old Molly Russell blamed social media firms for the teenager's suicide. Picture: Alamy

Fresh changes to the proposed online safety bill will tackle the "absurd situation" surrounding the enforcement of age limits on social media platforms, Michelle Donelan said.

She told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast this week: "We are removing the legal but harmful (duties), which would have led to unintended consequences and have an erosion of free speech.

"Whereas we're rebalancing this for some common-sense approaches."

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