The creators of Netflix drama Adolescence have been invited to parliament to discuss online safety with MPs, Sky News understands.
Labour’s Josh MacAlister has been in touch with representatives of actor Stephen Graham and his co-writer Jack Thorne about the possibility of a meeting, it is understood.
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MPs are keen to discuss themes raised in the chart-topping show, which centres on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl and the rise of incel culture.
It arrived amid mounting concern over violent and sexist social media content being served up to teenagers, and calls for the government to get tough on tech firms.
Graham and Thorne have expressed a desire for the series to be shown in schools and parliament to start a conversation about how to better protect children.
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PM wants to tackle ‘abhorrent’ trend
Sir Keir Starmer gave that campaign his backing yesterday, revealing at PMQs he had been watching the drama with his teenage children.
“This violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem,” he said.
“It’s abhorrent, and we have to tackle it.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News the issues raised in Adolescence were ones the government should be “acutely aware of”.
And Labour MP Johnathan Brash, who has an eight-year-old boy, said he would back showing parts of the show to primary school children so they can learn about the harms of social media before they start using it.
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Mr MacAlister is the MP behind the safer phones legislation, which aimed to stop children “doom-scrolling” by raising the age of consent to use social media from 13 to 16.
However, his private members bill (PMB) had to be watered down to get government support – as PMBs don’t usually pass without it.
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How incel culture influenced new Netflix show
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Call for social media age of consent to be raised
In an interview with BBC Newsnight on Wednesday, Thorne said he hoped the debate sparked by Adolescence could “provoke” the government into change.
He pointed out Australia is set to enforce a social media ban for young children, making platforms liable for fines of up to A$50m (£25m) if they don’t prevent those younger than 16 from holding accounts.
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The Online Safety Act, which is being implemented this year, is intended to protect young people from illegal and harmful content with fines for platforms who break the rules coming in this summer.
However, MPs from across the political spectrum want further action to tackle the amount of time children spend on their smartphones.
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Sky News has learnt a group of around 25 Labour MPs keen for tougher action on online safety are due to hold their first meeting next week
The Tories want the government to force teachers to ban smartphones from schools, with shadow education secretary Laura Trott telling Sky News she is so concerned she won’t allow her children to have one.
