A stronger Online Safety Act would protect children and boost the economy
4 min read
There is a growth paradox at the heart of this government.
Despite the Prime Minister being elected on a promise to prioritise economic growth, a year on, his government seems curiously unwilling to unlock billions in annual economic return that is staring them in the face.
The blind spot? Stronger regulation of online harms, a policy that’s not only politically salient and resonates with families right across the country, but that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's economic modelling suggests can pump-prime the economy to the tune of billions. £4 bn, to be precise.
DSIT's figures suggest that a strengthened Online Safety Act, reducing exposure to online harms by 15 per cent, would deliver at least this much in annualised economic return.
The actual figures may be much greater. Even at £4bn, it would cover the £3.5bn gap left if the government were to reverse the two-child benefit cap. This policy can meaningfully change the dial for both families and our economic outlook.
The benefits of a stronger Online Safety Act have even been recognised by the Chancellor. While Rachel Reeves has been chasing regulators to do their bit to turbocharge growth, in a recent letter she told us regulation “can be an essential tool to drive growth”.
She went on to say that the “online safety regime is expected to drive economic growth by tackling the harms that blight the adoption and enjoyment of online products and services here in the UK”.
So why is this government seemingly so unwilling to act on unashamedly pro-growth, pro-safety policies?
Many may suggest the answer lies with the Technology Secretary Peter Kyle and his overly close relationship with big tech. He held 28 meetings with tech sector representatives in just six months. His very first meetings were with Apple, Google and Meta, just a week after coming into office.
Trade talks and geopolitics have also added to the inertia and delay. The spectre of JD Vance and Elon Musk’s influence in the White House undoubtedly looms large, with the vice president regularly attacking UK and EU tech regulation driven by his first amendment beliefs.
What’s more, years of big tech lobbyists falsely pitting regulation against growth have clearly created an axiomatic but flawed assumption, deeply ingrained in the Treasury and DSIT, that tech firms must be protected and kept sweet at all costs.
We’re left with a government for whom the lure of new AI data centres is a prize above all else, even if tech firms are promising one-off investment with one hand while pursuing a business model that leaches our public services and economy with the other.
The government has a decision to make: does it continue to prioritise the interests of tech firms, or does it stand on the side of children and families to strengthen regulation that will fuel our economic growth, protect our NHS, and support the life chances of our next generation?
Online safety is, of course, about far more than economic growth. It's about the young lives lost to suicide each year, the harm wreaked on families and society, and children growing up having to weigh up the benefits of technology with the inherently preventable harm it causes.
While ministers sit back and Ofcom at best fiddles at the margins, big tech remains able to operate a largely unchecked business model in which the costs of its inaction are passed on to our already hard-pressed public services, police and NHS.
This means police having to investigate spiralling rates of online crime, hospitals having to deal with tens of thousands of urgent admissions linked to technology-related cases of teenage self-harm, and overstretched CAMHS units having to provide mental health and therapeutic care to an ever-growing number of teens.
MPs from all sides of the aisle who want to see this country grow, but also understand the urgent imperative of protecting our children, families and democracy from online harms, should be asking the government if it is prepared to seize this moment.
‘Win-win’ opportunities are hard to find, and it would be deeply perplexing if Downing Street chooses not to seize upon the one that is now available to it.
Andy Burrows is Chief Executive of Molly Rose Foundation.
