Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have spoken out about child online safety as they urged social media platforms to combat harmful content visible online.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a video of their plea to big tech companies following the US Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on online safety for children on Wednesday.
Alongside a clip from their appearance at a World Mental Health Day discussion in NYC in Oct. 2023, the couple stressed that “the best parenting in the world cannot keep children safe from these platforms.”
In the video, the mom of two says, “When the car was first invented, there wasn’t a seatbelt. And what happened? People started to get hurt, people started to die. So you started to change the car.”
Harry then chimes in, adding, “We need to get out of this idea that young kids, there’s something wrong with them. No, it’s the world that we’re allowing to be created around them. Please stop sending children content that you wouldn’t want your own children to see.”
“Everyone now is affected by the online world and social media,” the “Suits” alum, 42, added. “There is an entry point that’s a positive and creative community, but we all just want to feel safe.”
The Sussexes, who have long been advocates for child online safety, said their Archewell Foundation has been “working with many of these families to provide a support network for parents dealing with grief or who have children managing serious mental health conditions as a result of their exposure to harmful online content.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, politicians and parents of victimized children told social media moguls, including Mark Zuckerberg and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, that they have “blood on their hands” as they shared their horror stories — while many family members held pictures of their deceased or scarred children.
“We applaud the bravery and determination of the thousands of parents around the country whose advocacy resulted in this hearing,” Harry and Meghan said in a statement on their foundation’s website Wednesday.
“Over the past few years, we have spent time with many of these families, listening to their heartache and their hopes for the urgent change that is needed in the online space.”
“This is an issue that transcends division and party lines, as we saw today at the Senate hearing,” they continued. “This is not the time to pass the buck of responsibility. It’s the time to make necessary changes at the source to keep our children safe.”
TikTok CEO Shou Chew, X CEO Linda Yaccarino and Discord CEO Jason Citron were also on hand for the hearing.
At one point, the Meta CEO and Facebook founder stood up and apologized to the families of victims of online child sex abuse in the middle of the heated Senate hearing.
“I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” said Zuckerberg, who was grilled for hours by lawmakers over Meta’s failure to crack down on child predators and “sextortion” crimes on Facebook and Instagram.
“No one should go through the things that your families have suffered,” Zuckerberg continued.
“And this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer.”
