CLWYD NORTH MP Gill German is spearheading a drive to ensure young people’s voices shape the future of online safety
Through a series of Online Safety Act Young People’s Forums with Year 10 and Year 12 students, Gill is gathering first-hand insights into the risks teenagers face online – from bullying and harmful content to AI-driven misinformation – and ensuring their experiences help shape future policy.
This comes as significant new provisions of the Act came into force last summer, introducing strict age-verification requirements, tough new child-safety duties for platforms, and greater powers for Ofcom to hold tech companies to account.
Gill, a former teacher and Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Families for Denbighshire, held her first sessions at Ysgol Glan Clwyd in St Asaph, and Ysgol Eirias, Colwyn Bay, this term.
She will survey all Year 10 and Year 12 pupils in Clwyd North in early 2025, followed by further forums in the Spring to discuss the findings. The work will feed into a UK-wide group of MPs driving improvements under the Online Safety Act.
“As someone who has worked with young people my whole life, this is deeply personal to me,” said Gill.
“Some of the biggest risks facing our children today are not visible, they’re happening online, on apps and devices, away from the adults who care about them.
“We need to hear directly from young people about what’s really going on, and we need to act on it.”
The forums give pupils a safe, structured space to talk openly about the pressures and dangers they encounter online. Early discussions have highlighted concerns over harmful content, the ease with which bullying spreads on social media, privacy fears, and the growing challenge of AI-generated disinformation.
Gill added: “The honesty and maturity the pupils showed was remarkable. They were clear that social media platforms must step up via stronger age checks, clearer reporting systems, better safeguards and real accountability.
“Young people are navigating an online world that changes by the week, and they want proper digital literacy support for themselves and their families.”
The detailed survey being launched in January will reach thousands of pupils across Clwyd North, ensuring every young person has a voice in the next phase of the campaign.
Results will be brought back to students in March for follow-up forums, with local insights contributing to national discussions involving Ofcom and other MPs, in partnership with organisations including Molly Rose Foundation and the Internet Watch Foundation.
Selected pupils will also be invited to the House of Commons in the summer to present their recommendations.
“This campaign is about empowering young people, but it’s also about bringing schools, families, communities and policymakers together,” said Gill.
“Education in Wales is devolved, but online safety is much broader than the curriculum. It’s about safeguarding and wellbeing. Our schools are already doing outstanding work, and this project builds on that.
“I want this campaign to be part of my legacy as MP. Nothing matters more than the safety and future of our children, and their voices must guide the changes we make.”
For more information, email gill.german.mp@parliament.uk or visit the website: Gill German MP – Standing up for Clwyd North. Alternatively, call 01745 335267 or follow Gill on social media.