Social media firms given a week to better protect kids

New Delhi: Britain will introduce new laws targeting social media companies, in case they didn't take necessary steps to protect children.

In a letter to social media platforms Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter among others, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that their failure to prevent young children using social media from its harmful, emotional side effects was unacceptable and irresponsible.

Hunt said that he was particularly concerned about the lack of age verification measures, with thousands breaching the minimum user age rules.

He gave the platforms a week to set out steps they were taking to cut underage use, prevent cyberbullying, and promote limited screen time.

On a related note, in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London on Friday, the leaders of the 53 countries agreed to work closely to evaluate and strengthen their cybersecurity frameworks and response mechanisms, and unanimously agreed to take action on cybersecurity by 2020.

A notification from the CHOGM termed the declaration as the world's largest and most geographically diverse inter-governmental commitment on cybersecurity cooperation.

The nations aim to tackle criminal groups and hostile state actors who pose a global threat to security.