Some of those in favour of smartphones say they provide good opportunities for child development, including socialising, and there is little evidence supporting restrictions of devices in schools.

Mr MacAlister is using the bill to call for:

a legal requirement for all schools to be mobile-free zones

the age online companies can receive data consent from children without permission from parents to be raised from 13 to 16

Ofcom’s powers to be strengthened so it can enforce a code of conduct to prevent children being exposed to apps and services “addictive by design”

further regulation of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by under-16s, if needed

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'Beyond inflated key user metrics, our in-game research revealed an X-rated paedophile hellscape, exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech.
Roblox is compromising child safety in order to report growth to investors, per our interview with a former senior product designer: “If you’re limiting users’ engagement, it’s hurting your metrics…in a lot of cases, the leadership doesn’t want that.”'

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Robot vacuums made by Ecovacs have been reported roving around people’s homes, yelling profanities at them through the onboard speakers after the company’s software was found to be vulnerable to intrusion.

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A deluge of misinformation online about back-to-back hurricanes in the US has been fuelled by a social media universe that rewards engagement over truth.

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The person demanded money and threatened to share John’s image online, a crime commonly referred to as sextortion. John lost more than £3,000 trying to stop the blackmailer from sharing the image.

When he had no more money to offer - fearing there was no way out - John thought about taking his own life.

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When Andrew Kaung, an analyst on user safety at TikTok, looked at the TikTok content, he was alarmed to find how some teenage boys were being shown posts featuring violence and pornography, and promoting misogynistic views, he tells BBC Panorama. He says, in general, teenage girls were recommended very different content based on their interests.

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