Louise Haigh MP welcomes launch of new online safety campaign in Yorkshire, delivering vital support for families in Sheffield Heeley.
Louise Haigh MP has welcomed the launch of the Government’s new ‘You Won’t Know Until You Ask’ campaign, designed to support parents with practical tools and guidance to help keep children safe from harmful and toxic content online.
The campaign, announced by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, gives families immediate, easy-to-use advice on setting safety tools and starting conversations with children about digital content. From misinformation to harmful algorithmic feeds and body-shaming material shown on social media platforms.
Alongside the national launch, Yorkshire and the Midlands have been selected as pilot regions, meaning families in Sheffield Heeley will be among the first to benefit. From 16 February, marketing activity including TV advertising and content across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will roll out across the region.
The campaign will be accompanied by a Parent Online Safety Hub, which will provide a single, trusted location for parents seeking clear, practical guidance to help keep children safe online. The Hub will also provide external links to other services and organisations which can provide relevant support. – https://kidsonlinesafety.campaign.gov.uk/
The initiative is backed by behavioural research and academic insight. Recently published government-commissioned research found that half of British parents have never spoken to their children about harmful online content, despite 90% of 11-year-olds now owning a smartphone. More than half of parents said they had not come across resources to help them navigate these conversations, while nearly three-quarters said they would feel confident correcting misinformation if properly equipped.
Louise Hagih has been campaigning on the issue of online safety for years, particularly on how children are exposed to harmful content and how tech companies must be held to account. During her time as Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy, she repeatedly pushed for social media firms to recognise their responsibilities to protect young people and to confront dangerous and illegal content online.
More recently, Louise has been vocal in urging the Government to take tougher action against unsafe technology and AI tools that fuel exploitation and abuse online. After concerns were raised about the AI chatbot Grok on the social platform X being used to generate harmful and sexualised content including cases involving children. Louise called on the Government to stop official use of the platform entirely unless meaningful safeguards are introduced.
Louise Haigh MP Said:
“This is an incredibly important campaign that will empower parents to better protect their children online.
We all know the very real dangers young people face on social media, yet for too long we have been too slow to respond to the pace of technological change.
Parents in Sheffield Heeley want practical support, not just warm words and this initiative will give families the confidence to have those difficult but vital conversations about what their children are seeing and experiencing online.
I’m pleased Yorkshire has been chosen as a pilot region, and I hope this scheme is a success that is rolled out across the country.”