Lord Uday Nagaraju calls for stronger online safety protections for children
Lord Uday Nagaraju has called for stronger online safety protections for children, urging the Government, regulators and technology companies to take greater responsibility for how digital platforms are designed.
Speaking during a House of Lords debate secured by Lord Patel, Nagaraju argued that measuring children’s screen time alone does not provide a complete picture of the impact of digital services on their wellbeing and development.
He called for greater scrutiny of what children do online, how digital platforms are designed and whether young users can disengage from them when they choose.
Nagaraju highlighted the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ call for stronger safety-by-design measures, including switching off autoplay by default, introducing meaningful stopping points in endless feeds and limiting notifications designed to exploit users’ fear of missing out.
He stressed that responsibility for children’s online safety should not fall on families alone, but should be shared by the Government, regulators and technology companies.
Addressing the growing use of artificial intelligence, Nagaraju acknowledged its potential to support learning but raised concerns about AI companion chatbots and the possibility of emotional dependency among children.
He questioned whether such services encourage young users to seek support from trusted adults or risk drawing them away from real-world relationships.
During the debate, Nagaraju asked the Minister for a clear timetable for introducing design protections, enforceable safeguards for conversational AI and evaluations that assess children’s experiences beyond overall screen-time figures.
He also called for greater focus on whether children are sleeping better, sustaining their attention, questioning AI-generated answers and solving problems independently.
Nagaraju said the wider objective should be to protect children’s ability to learn, build relationships and make independent choices, while ensuring that the safeguards introduced deliver meaningful results.
