Government betraying children by gutting smartphone Bill, MPs told

The Government is “betraying our children and capitulating to big tech” by “gutting” a private member’s Bill that would have included a ban on smartphones in school, MPs have heard.

Conservative former education secretary Kit Malthouse described the Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill, as a “hollowed-out gesture” before its consideration was adjourned.

The version of the Bill introduced by Labour MP Josh MacAlister, would instruct UK chief medical officers to publish advice for parents on the use of smartphones and social media by children.

It would also compel ministers to say within a year whether they plan to raise the age at which children can consent for their data to be shared without parental permission.

Mr MacAlister had originally planned for the Bill to call for a legal requirement to make all schools in England mobile-free zones and committing the Government to review further regulation of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by children under the age of 16.

Mr Malthouse said he told MPs he lamented “the gutting of what could have been a landmark Bill” and the Government “has dithered, diluted and capitulated”.

He said: “We should all be furious about this. We should all be furious about the delay and the prevarication that is being injected into what could have been a huge step forward for parents and children.

“I cannot then understand why the Government has pressured (Labour MP Josh MacAlister) to produce what is, frankly, a cosmetic plug, betraying our children and capitulating to big tech. I’m afraid this Bill is a shell of what it could have been, and as a result, is yet another missed opportunity to improve the lives of our young people.”

Mr MacAlister – a former teacher – told MPs that the average 12-year-old spends 21 hours a week on their smartphone, adding: “This is a fundamental rewiring of childhood itself and it’s happened in little over a decade.”

He said: “We must act on excessive screen time today in the same way we acted on smoking back then, and like debates that were had on smoking and car seatbelts, it took a process of legislation rather than one ‘big bang’ event.

“That’s why starting today with these initial steps and then following them through with major action soon will be so important.”

Conservative MP Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) said he suspected a Government whip had told Mr MacAlister “he had a very promising career ahead of him should he agree to do the right thing and water this legislation down to the point where it doesn’t actually do very much at all”.

Intervening, Mr MacAlister said: “Private members’ Bills are often a shot in the dark, and my aim from the beginning of this process has been, yes, to have the national debate, but also to put all of my energy on landing this with some action and progress.”

Sir Ashley then went on to say there is “nothing in this Bill that requires legislation” and Mr MacAlister “should be a little bit ashamed of having campaigned so vigorously and then presented this Bill”.

Caroline Voaden, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, said she hoped the Bill marks “the first step in a journey which will be far-reaching and hopefully fairly swift”.

She said: “I know I am not alone to be somewhat disappointed that the Bill we see today is but a shadow of its former self, and that the Government has been so timid in what it is willing to do to try and save our children and young people from something that is clearly causing them considerable harm.”

In her contribution, Labour MP for Darlington, Lola McEvoy said “there’s no case for children to have their smartphones in schools” and urged the Government to “to get on with it and take as much action as we can”.

Conservative MP Damian Hinds, who like Mr Malthouse previously served as education secretary, said a lack of evidence around digital harms is no reason not to legislate, instead calling on the Government and researchers to prove online spaces are safe for children before they can be used.

“It seems odd that we allow something to happen to our children because we cannot 100% prove it causes harm, rather than because we can prove that it is safe,” he told MPs.

“That is not the way we deal with children’s toys, it is not the way we deal with children’s food, it is not the way we deal with children’s medicines.”

Data protection minister Sir Chris Bryant said he was “not going to make any arguments today against action”, adding: “Everybody accepts that action is inevitable in this sphere.”

He said he wanted to secure “the liberty of the individual at the same time as the protection of the vulnerable, and that’s precisely what we need to be able to adopt as we move forward”.

Sir Chris said the Government was working to implement the already-passed Online Safety Act “as fast as we possibly can”, adding that illegal content codes will come into force this month, with new duties on social media companies to detect and remove some content including child sexual abuse and terrorism material.

He said children’s safety codes are “nearly finalised”, and told the Commons that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is running a feasibility study into the impact of smartphones and social media, due to report in May so ministers “have all the information that we need to make a considered view”.

MPs agreed to adjourn the debate, which will be listed to resume on July 11.