Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released a new video calling on social media companies to reduce the amount of harmful content children can see online.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex last night released the clip of their performance at a World Mental Health Day event in New York on October 10 last year.
They published the video on their Archewell website following a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child safety that took place in Washington yesterday where politicians warned social media giants: ‘You have blood on your hands’.
In the video, Meghan says: ‘When the car was first invented, there were no seat belts. And what happened? People got hurt, people started dying. So you started changing the car.”
Harry adds: ‘We need to get away from the idea that there is something wrong with young children. No, it is the world we create around them. Please stop sending children content you wouldn’t want your own children to see.”
Harry and Meghan at a World Mental Health Day event in New York on October 10 last year
The Sussexes released the video after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington yesterday, where US politicians warned social media giants: ‘You have blood on your hands’
And Meghan then says: ‘Everyone is now influenced by the online world and social media. There is an entry point: a positive and creative community, but we all just want to feel safe.”
The couple said the hearing on online child safety took place “in front of a packed room of dozens of parents whose children have suffered or died as a result of online harm.”
They added that their Archewell Foundation has “worked with many of these families to provide a support network for parents dealing with grief or who have children struggling with serious mental health issues as a result of their exposure to harmful online -contents’.
In a joint statement accompanying the video on their website, the Sussexes said: ‘We applaud the courage and determination of the thousands of parents across the country whose advocacy led to this hearing.
“Over the past few years, we have spent time with many of these families, listening to their grief and their hopes for the urgent change needed in the online space.
“This is an issue that transcends divisions and party lines, as we saw during today’s Senate hearing. The best parenting in the world cannot protect children from these platforms.
“As one of the fathers told us, ‘If love could have saved them, all our children would still be here.’
‘This is not the time to pass the buck. It is time to make the necessary changes at the source to keep our children safe.”
The video dates back to October 10, when the Sussexes urged social media companies to reduce the amount of harmful content children can see online to protect their mental health.
Harry and Meghan made the comments at a mental health awareness festival organized by the nonprofit Project Healthy Minds in New York.
The royal couple, who spoke about their own mental health struggles, took part in a panel discussion alongside US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, moderated by NBC host Carson Daly, who previously spoke about his struggles with anxiety.
The event, on World Mental Health Day, was coordinated by the Duke and Duchess’ Archewell Foundation.
The couple called on social media companies to implement better content moderation policies and adapt apps that can be addictive to young people.
They spoke after hearing from parents who have lost children to mental health issues related to social media use.
The duke urged tech bosses to ‘stop sending children content you wouldn’t want your own children to see’.
The Duchess said she and her husband are focusing on what they can do behind the scenes to make social media use “safer, better and more positive” and that the couple have spoken to tech executives about the issue.
She added: “People are getting hurt – and people, especially children, are dying.
‘A year ago we met some families, not all of them. At the time it was impossible not to be in tears as I’m sure many of you have heard these stories today.
‘As parents, our children are still very young – they are two and a half and four and a half – but social media is not going away.
“I think by design there is an entry point that has to be positive, in creating a community and something has been passed on, and there’s no way to hear that and not try to help these families tell their stories let it be heard.’
On the same day in Britain, the Princess of Wales gave a speech to young people gathered in Birmingham for a day of workshops and discussions to mark World Mental Health Day, with her husband Prince William in the audience.
It comes as US politicians last night warned social media giants that they have ‘blood on your hands’ – with the bosses of Meta, TikTok and others scrutinizing the dangers of children on their platforms.
Testifying before senators and the families of children who died after being bullied or abused online, they were told, “You have a product that is killing people.”
The US government is trying to pass online safety laws due to concerns that the websites are rife with child exploitation.
Reports have consistently highlighted the risks to young users, such as algorithms linking teenagers to pedophiles.
Among those giving evidence before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday were the CEOs of X, Snapchat and TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew.
But the heaviest fire was aimed at Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, who runs Facebook and Instagram.
Meta is currently facing a major lawsuit filed by 40 US states that collectively accuse it of an alleged failure to protect its youngest users.
Prosecutors say newly released internal documents show the company knew its algorithms were endangering children, despite publicly claiming they were safe.
Yesterday, Senator Richard Blumenthal highlighted how Mr Zuckerberg had in 2021 rejected pleas from former British Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg, then head of global affairs, to hire around 80 staff to tackle harmful content over concerns about a ‘lack of investment’.
Senator Blumenthal said estimates showed the move would have cost an estimated £40 million – at a time when Meta had earned £7 billion in just one quarter.
He said: ‘That is an example, from your own internal documents, of failure to act.
“It’s why we can no longer trust Meta – and frankly all other social media – to grade their own homework.”
Senator Lindsey Graham drew applause from the hearing room when he said, “Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it, but you have blood on your hands. You have a product that is killing people.’
At one point, Mr. Zuckerberg stood and turned to the rows of victims’ families attending the hearing to apologize for what happened to their loved ones.
In Britain, social media companies will have to remove illegal content and protect children from harmful material under the Online Safety Act.
If they don’t comply, Ofcom could hand out huge fines – and ultimately send bosses to jail if they still fail to clear up their act.
The death of 14-year-old Molly Russell – who killed herself after being bombarded with self-harm and suicide content online – played a major role in pushing the legislation through Parliament.
Last night her father Ian Russell said: ‘Today Mark Zuckerberg showed outright denial about Meta’s role in damaging the health and wellbeing of a generation of teenagers.
“Like Big Tobacco decades before, Big Tech is actively dodging the industrial-level harm it causes to young people.”