Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have criticised tech firms and called for stronger protections for children from the dangers of social media, saying “enough is not being done”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have unveiled a memorial in New York City dedicated to children who have died due to the harms of the internet.
Prince Harry, 40, said: “We want to make sure that things are changed so that… no more kids are lost to social media.
“The easiest thing to say is to keep your kids away from social media. The sad reality is that the kids who aren’t on social media normally get bullied at school because they can’t be part of the same conversations as everybody else.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have criticised tech firms and called for stronger protections for children from the dangers of social media
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Harry told BBC Breakfast: “Some of the stories here are truly harrowing. Having done this for the last three years and being aware of it for the last five years, you think you’ve heard the worst of it until nights like this here in America, some of these stories are, I mean, they’re crime scenes.
“Like full-blown crime scenes, and yet these companies are getting away with it by saying we don’t need to give you disclosure for UK families, some of the arguments that are being made around privacy.”
The installation unveiled by the couple is called the Lost Screen Memorial, made from 50 smartphones, each displaying the screen photo of a child whose life was lost “due to the harms of social media”.
The memorial will be open for 24 hours.
The children’s images were shared by parents who are part of the Parents’ Network, set up by Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation, which provides support for parents whose children have experienced harm from social media.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have unveiled a memorial in New York City
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The Sussexes have been supporting families who say social media played a role in their children’s deaths.
They have backed calls that parents should be able to access information on the phones of children who have died, despite privacy arguments.
Prince Harry said tech firms were “getting away with it” by using privacy considerations to withhold information from UK families.
He told the BBC: “You are telling a parent, you are telling a dad and a mum that they can’t have the details of what their kid was up to on social media because of the privacy of their kid. It’s wrong.”
Meghan, 43, told BBC Breakfast the danger was a global issue and “one thing we can all agree on is that children should be safe”.
She praised the parents speaking out, saying: “I think in many ways what we see through these parents is the hope and the promise of something better, because… they just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“It is a universal truth that our children are in harms way by what’s happening online and I think for those who do to choose to be online and to be in social media as adults as well that we get to set the example and really put as much good and joy into the world as we can.
“It’s so powerful if you look at it through that lens, so that’s what we are here to support.”
The interview comes after Meghan spoke at the Times100 Summit
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Prince Harry added: “We’re just grateful that our kids are too young to be on social media at this point.
“One of the reasons why we’re doing this is because us collectively, with all these parents, want to make sure that things are changed so that no more parents, no more kids are lost to social media.
“It’s unacceptable, it’s wrong. It’s no longer a secret, and yet these companies are given this power to be able to conceal the truth from parents as to why their kid took their life.
“Life is better off social media.”
Meghan Markle described the danger as a global issue
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Among the UK families in New York is Ellen Roome from Cheltenham, who believes her 14-year-old son Jools died after an online challenge in 2022.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it shares the goal of keeping teens safe online.
On Thursday, Ofcom published measures to improve online protections for children.
