A group of British parents who believe social media played a part in the death of their children have travelled to the US to demand better online safety protections for children.<\/p>\n
Four families flew to New York City to take part ina protest with hundreds of other parents outside the offices of Meta \u2013 owner of Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll we\u2019re asking for is can you please help us protect our children,\u201d said Mark Kenevan, father of Isaac who died aged 13 from taking part in a social media challenge.<\/p>\n
Their visit comes as media regulator Ofcom announced that websites will be legally required to block children\u2019s access to harmful content from July to continue operating in the UK.<\/p>\n
Websites will also have to introduce more rigorous age checks, according to its final children\u2019s code of practice published on Thursday.<\/p>\n
BBC Breakfast followed the four British families on their mission in the US.<\/p>\n
Lisa Kenevan, mother of Isaac, said the families banding together had given each other strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want government, we want tech companies to understand that we are getting stronger, our voices are getting stronger, and we\u2019re not going to go away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A coroner ruled that Isaac had died in 2022 as a result of misadventure, but the Kenevans say social media platforms were also to blame.<\/p>\n
This year they were among several families who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against TikTok in the US, which accuses the platform of pushing dangerous prank and challenge videos to children to boost engagement time.<\/p>\n
Maia Walsh\u2019s family, who are part of the lawsuit, also believe the 13-year-old died from injuries while taking part in an <\/strong>online challenge. An inquest into her death will examine her use of TikTok.<\/p>\n Her father Liam Walsh, talking about the New York protest, told BBC Breakfast: \u201cI feel as though we\u2019re getting recognition for what happened to our children, because there is something in it \u2013 it\u2019s not just desperate parents clutching at straws.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re slowly revealing what happened to our children, and this is part of that movement.\u201d<\/p>\n Liam Walsh also believes his 13-year-old daughter Maia died in an online challenge<\/p>\n TikTok says it prohibits dangerous content or challenges on the platform, and directs those who search for hashtags or videos to its safety centre.<\/p>\n Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, says it also shares the goal of keeping teens safe online and had recently introduced \u201cteen accounts\u201d with enhanced protections.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe teens deserve consistent protections across all the different apps they use \u2013 not just our platforms,\u201d Meta said in a statement.<\/p>\n Also among the parents in New York is Ellen Roome, who believes her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died after an online challenge went wrong in 2022 and his social media accounts could provide the evidence needed. An inquest into his death found he took his own life.<\/p>\n \u201c[He was] just a normal, lovely boy. Not one moment in our life did we think we would be in this position\u2026 there was nothing that gave us any indication that there was a problem,\u201d Ms Roome said, who is campaigning for legislation to grant parents access to their children\u2019s social media accounts if they die.<\/p>\n \u201cI almost want to tell parents \u2018you don\u2019t know what your children are looking at\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t for our children because it\u2019s too late, but for them to have that conversation with their children about what are they looking at, what are they seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n The BBC previously approached TikTok, X, Snapchat, Discord and Meta \u2013 which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads \u2013 to ask about Ms Roome\u2019s case.<\/p>\n None of them gave a formal response, but a spokesperson from Snapchat previously said: \u201cOur hearts go out to Ms Roome and her family for the loss of Jools.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have extra protections for under 18s and offer parental tools so parents can see who their teens are communicating with and report any concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for TikTok has also previously said the company had removed 99% of videos showing or promoting dangerous content before it was reported by a user.<\/p>\n Breck Bednar was lured to his death after being groomed online<\/p>\n Also among the parents in New York was Lorin LaFave, mother of 14-year-old Breck Bednar who was lured to his death in 2014 after being groomed online whilst gaming.<\/p>\n The online safety campaigner, who now shares Breck\u2019s story in schools through the Breck Foundation, said: \u201cI would love to see age restrictions. For me I think children need their childhood longer.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re being exposed to so much adult content and adult relationships too soon, too young, and you\u2019re only a child once.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday night Ms Roome and Mrs Kenevan also met with some grieving American families, who they will join forces with to protest against the tech industry and to campaign for a safer online world.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A group of British parents who believe social media played a part in the death of their children have travelled to the US to demand better online safety protections for children. 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