Speeches by Swallow.

“I do not want to take too much of the Committee’s time, but this is really important and quite alarming. Regardless of whether the user is under 16, under 18 or any age, your position is that the privacy trumps safety.”

“Ms Beauchere, can I just say that as a former teacher—”

“You are referring to the digital age of consent, which is 13 at the moment. Obviously, however, it is fairly clear that social media platforms frequently allow young people to access their services, or do not sufficiently block them from doing so.”

“Your rules for using the platform presumably apply equally in both public and private parts of your app.”

“I will come in specifically on that point, because as a gay man who grew up at the start of the social media age, this is something I think about a lot. There are challenges around creating that vision, particularly in rural communities and less connected communities, for smaller groups of individuals, such as young pe…”

“Your rules for using the platform presumably apply equally in both public and private parts of your app.”

“The reason Snap was not able to provide a witness at last week’s Committee session was that it was laying off 16% of its workforce and aiming to use AI to reduce costs by £368 million a year. What assurances can you give this Committee that Snap will not be reducing staffing in its safeguarding teams as part of those w…”

“But you seem to be setting out to the Committee that the way you enforce those community guidelines—the way you ensure that the content being served on your platform is both within those guidelines and, more broadly, within the law—is much more strongly monitored and enforced in the public side of your app than in the …”

“You are in charge of platform safety at the global level. Could you explain the structure of Snap here in the UK and what team you have here in the UK that works in-country to provide safety on your platform, so that when, for example, families raise concerns, they are being handled in-country?”

“You say that you cannot give us exact numbers and you cannot give us complete reassurance that the team will not be affected by workforce changes. Could you write to the Committee, please, on both of those points to confirm how large the team is here in the UK and whether it is being affected by any workforce changes?”

“Ms Beauchere, can I just say that as a former teacher—”

“But you seem to be setting out to the Committee that the way you enforce those community guidelines—the way you ensure that the content being served on your platform is both within those guidelines and, more broadly, within the law—is much more strongly monitored and enforced in the public side of your app than in the …”

“I do not want to press you on this point, but it is really important. We have been referring a lot to intimate images. Given the number of young people on your platform, you will appreciate why this is particularly important. You mention using AI to search for keywords and other linguistic markers in private messaging.…”

“Andy, the Molly Rose Foundation campaigns for the removal of harmful content from social media following the tragic death of Molly Russell in 2017. How did harmful online content contribute to the circumstances surrounding Molly’s suicide?”

“Andy, the Molly Rose Foundation campaigns for the removal of harmful content from social media following the tragic death of Molly Russell in 2017. How did harmful online content contribute to the circumstances surrounding Molly’s suicide?”

“The reason Snap was not able to provide a witness at last week’s Committee session was that it was laying off 16% of its workforce and aiming to use AI to reduce costs by £368 million a year. What assurances can you give this Committee that Snap will not be reducing staffing in its safeguarding teams as part of those w…”

“You are in charge of platform safety at the global level. Could you explain the structure of Snap here in the UK and what team you have here in the UK that works in-country to provide safety on your platform, so that when, for example, families raise concerns, they are being handled in-country?”

“But you seem to be setting out to the Committee that the way you enforce those community guidelines—the way you ensure that the content being served on your platform is both within those guidelines and, more broadly, within the law—is much more strongly monitored and enforced in the public side of your app than in the …”

“I do not want to press you on this point, but it is really important. We have been referring a lot to intimate images. Given the number of young people on your platform, you will appreciate why this is particularly important. You mention using AI to search for keywords and other linguistic markers in private messaging.…”

“I will come in specifically on that point, because as a gay man who grew up at the start of the social media age, this is something I think about a lot. There are challenges around creating that vision, particularly in rural communities and less connected communities, for smaller groups of individuals, such as young pe…”