Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell vows to target algorithms that bombard children with harmful content if party wins power
Molly Russell, 14, who took her own life in November 2017 after viewing material on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide.
The move by Labour comes weeks after the Conservative government ditched plans to in effect outlaw online material that is judged as “legal but harmful”, and dropped proposals to make platforms such as Facebook and Instagram liable for significant financial penalties for breaching regulations. But if it failed, Powell said Labour would legislate as soon as possible to address problems with “legal but harmful” material, impose tough new criminal sanctions on those responsible for promoting damaging content, and create a new ombudsman to adjudicate.