The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have called for more action to protect children from the dangers of social media, as they unveiled a memorial in New York City those youngsters whose lives were cut short due to “harms of social media”.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have called for more action to protect children from the dangers of social media.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex unveiled a memorial in New York City on Thursday night (24.04.25) to “honour the lives of children lost to online harm”, and Harry admitted he was “grateful” his and Meghan’s children – Prince Archie, five, and three-year-old Princess Lilibet – aren’t old enough to be online yet.
Speaking to ‘BBC Breakfast’ in New York, he said: “We want to make sure that things are changed so that… no more kids are lost to social media.
“Life is better off social media.
“The easiest thing to say is to keep your kids away from social media.
“The sad reality is the kids who aren’t on social media normally get bullied at school because they can’t be part of the same conversation as everybody else.”
The Lost Screen Memorial features 50 lightboxes, which are designed to look like smartphones.
Each one features a photograph of a child whose life was cut short due to “harms of social media”.
In a statement shared with Sky News, Harry said: “These children were not sick. Their deaths were not inevitable – they were exposed to, and in many cases were pushed harmful content online, the kind any child could encounter.
“No child should be exploited, groomed, or preyed upon in digital spaces. To the platforms, they may be seen as statistics. To their families, they were cherished and irreplaceable.
“While social media companies claim to be taking action, most still withhold critical data from grieving parents – data that could provide answers and accountability.”
Last year, Harry, 40, told how he feared children exposed to Internet “rabbit holes” could end up taking their lives “within 24 hours” of viewing harmful material.
He told CBS: “We always talk about in the olden days, if kids are under your roof, you know what they are up to. At least they’re safe.
“But now, they could in the next room, in a tablet or phone, going down these rabbit holes, and within 24 hours they could be taking their life.”
Meghan, 43, added: “Our kids are young – they’re three and five – they’re amazing, but all you want to do as parents is protect them.
“And so as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there and we’re just happy to be able to be a part of change for good.”
Prince Harry and Meghan call for stronger social media protection for youngsters
