Speeches by Irons.

“Then you should have the figure, shouldn’t you?”

“Can I ask Rebecca the same question? Do you have that figure?”

“Obviously, they have just been involved in a quite high-profile legal case in which they were found to have created a platform that is intentionally addictive to young people. Are you comfortable with your content being on a platform that is intentionally addictive?”

“I thank the Minister for her tireless work and campaigning on this issue, both in this place and in our community of Croydon. I know that this moral mission is personal to her, but given her experience, does she agree that tackling knife crime requires a whole-system approach bringing together policing, schools, health…”

“Not that one, but the other ones—the other people who are coming forward with other evidence. If you are doing all this and it is supposed to be making an impact, why are people still trying to sue Meta for having addictive platforms?”

“TikTok settled, so maybe—I don’t know—there is an admission that TikTok has an addictive algorithm, but isn’t the behaviour that we are talking about, with young people trying to get around this, demonstrating addiction? Is it not proving the point that your services are not particularly good for children’s wellbeing i…”

“So it is not economically viable to be using YouTube. It is more of a marketing tool.”

“Just so you are aware, your content is on the non-logged-in bit as well. If you go on to just the website, which is next to the slop and next to whatever else it may be, it is also there. The point that we are trying to make, I feel, is that broadcasters are jumping through hoops and doing the right thing when it comes…”

“I will declare some interests: I worked at Channel 4 before becoming an MP, and I have two small children who have watched a lot of Milkshake!—thank you so much for your service. It is a really lovely thing. I am going to ask some questions about YouTube and video sharing platforms, and about prominence and what that m…”

“Who am I to tell you how to do anything in your business, but surely part of the negotiation with a teenager to have an account could be, “You need to have this linked to a parent.” Thirty-five might be a bit too high, but surely you can do things to ensure that it is not basically like sticking seatbelts in your car a…”

“How do we help, basically?”

“On a broader point around video sharing platforms, you have both spoken passionately about the importance of high-quality content and what goes into making the programmes that you make. We have heard Milkshake! described as a safe space for parents and children on the linear schedule. Do you think that video sharing pl…”

“Ian, in your written evidence, Sky asked that any new prominence regime covers public service content more broadly, rather than only content from PSBs. Sky is behind a paywall, so why would we pass legislation to protect your income, basically?”

“Are your platforms safe for children aged 13 and above?”

“The point I am making is that although where you can control things, you are producing these things to the highest possible safety standards, you are being encouraged to put more content on to a place that you do not control and has been found to have been designed to be intentionally addictive. Do you think that the G…”

“Are your platforms safe for children aged 13 and above?”

“On YouTube.”

“I am an MP in Croydon, and the red versus blue trend had a significant impact on some local schools. One school had a lot of children in one year who did not turn up because they were so afraid of what was going to happen. I appreciate that this is about content on your platform. You are very clear that you do not want…”

“I suppose the question is, given everything you have done—and, as you acknowledge, it is still not safe—why are people still trying to sue you?”

“There is a lot of talk, especially around children’s content—and when we talk about children, we are talking about 13-year-olds for your platform. Especially when it comes to things like YouTube, in the context of a framework for what we consider high-quality content, we have picked up in this inquiry that there are a …”