内容摘要：The police submission points out that in other countries more information is made public.

The police submission points out that in other countries more information is made public.

All these rules are about the behaviour of platforms, but it’s worth saying that when it comes to individuals and how they act online, talk has already turned to action. New criminal offences around cyber-flashing, spreading fake news and encouraging self harm went live in January this year.But it even though the majority of the provisions of the Act are not yet enforceable, Silicon Valley does seem to be taking notice.

On 17 September, a press release popped into my inbox. It was from Meta, which owns Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook and Messenger. Nothing to get excited about, happens all the time. Only this one was different. It was effectively announcing the biggest shake up in Instagram’s short history, the creation of specific “teen accounts”.In short, it means all existing accounts belonging to under 18s would be moved to new accounts with built-in restrictions, including greater parental controls for children under 16. Any child signing up from that week would automatically get one of the new “safer” accounts.The reality of the new teen accounts may not quite match up to the hyperbole of the press release, but Meta didn’t have to make this change. Was it the spectre of the OSA that forced their hand? Yes, but only in part.

It would be wrong to think that all the positive changes protecting children online have come about because of the prospect of the OSA. The UK is only one player in a global move to restrict the power of big tech. In February this year the EU’s Digital Services Act fully came into force, embedding a duty of transparency on big firms and holding them to account for illegal or harmful content.In the US, federal legislation seems to have stalled, but there lawsuits are coming that target the biggest social media platforms. Families of children harmed by their exposure to harmful content, school boards and the Attorneys General of 42 states are suing the platforms. The suits are being brought under consumer protection laws. In these cases, the claim is that social media was designed to be addictive and does not have adequate protections for children. They are seeking billions of dollars in pay-outs.

The influence of Molly Russell’s story here is also significant. I have met some of those bringing these lawsuits and their lawyers. They all know her name. As do senior people in Silicon Valley. Long before the OSA became law, companies were starting to introduce better content moderation.

That said, Ian Russell believes much, much more needs to be done.Members of the St Ives team, who completed the 35-mile challenge, said they were looking forward to a good night's rest and seeing their families over getting their phones back.

Sgt Tosh Hodgkins, from the Army's HQ South West cadet training team, said the challenge enabled the participants to be away from distractions and do nothing but talk to each other for 48 hours.He said: "They make their decisions without referring to anything electronic and it just opens up their worlds to what they can achieve without having to rely on technology and Google.

"It strips everything away and puts them back to the people they are and they rebuild themselves."A group of visually impaired rowers say a piece of simple technology is empowering more people to take up the sport.