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Here we will share the latest media activity and other news about the Health Professionals for Safer Screens
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Join our call for action to the UK Chief Medical Officers
Health Professionals for Safer Screens have co-ordinated a letter to the UK Chief Medical Officers regarding their February 2019 commentary to share that we believe it is outdated and requires an urgent review.
We are calling on them to
- Urgently revise the February 2019 CMO commentary to include updated evidence linking device use to mental health issues, as well as evidence regarding the broader harms to children.
- Focus the CMO’s positioning on child health by highlighting the serious challenges technology companies pose. The current approach seems too sympathetic to potential benefits and lacks urgency regarding the harms children face today. Requesting a “voluntary code of conduct” from the tech industry on safeguarding children is too lenient and not adequately centred on child health or safety.
- We note your call for the technology industry to fund independent research over the next decade. We believe this creates a conflict, as the health and medical science fields should solely fund such research. We also call on you to demand that researchers in this area disclose any income from technology companies.
- We urge you to reconsider your support of the age restriction requiring children 13 and older to consent to data sharing and social media access; we believe the minimum age should be 16. The Chief Medical Officer should also support legislative changes around child-safe phones, as recommended in the Education Select Committee’s recent report.
- Launch a public health campaign addressing screen time and social media use, with clear messaging directed at parents. An example already in use within NHS settings is attached.
- Call upon all Royal Colleges, including the RCPCH, to inform their members about the key issues and evidenced risks of harm.
Please add your signature to show the strength of concern about this in the Health Professional community
Supporting the Safer Phones Bill
Health Professionals for Safer Screens are delighted to have played their part in supporting this and will continue to as it makes its way through parliament.
“Addictive phone use, especially from a young age, is a major health concern for children, not just their access to harmful content. In clinical practice, we are seeing the negative impacts of these devices on all aspects of child health and yet we have done virtually nothing to communicate this to parents to help them make informed decisions about when they allow their children access to a smartphone. I greatly welcome Josh’s Bill, which I hope will spearhead a robust public health campaign on this issue.”
Dr Rebecca Foljambe on behalf of Health Professionals For Safer Screens
