Prince William delivered a powerful and possibly his hardest-hitting speech ever, calling on technology companies to do more to innovate and clamp down on the abuses that persist on their platforms.
Speaking during anti-bullying week, the Duke of Cambridge spoke about trolling in cyberspace, the rise of fake news and the difficulties young people face when seeing idealised lives portrayed on social media.
He told the gathered crowd at the BBC in London that tech companies should “reject the false choice of profits over values.”
“You have powered amazing movements of social change. Surely together you can harness innovation to allow us to fight back against the intolerance and cruelty that has been brought to the surface by your platforms.”
He added, “And you have brought families together in ways that were previously unimaginable. Surely you can partner with parents to make the online world a safe place of discovery, friendship and education for their children.”
William added that the companies “are so proud of what they have built that they cannot hear the growing concern from their users.”
“And increasingly they seemed resigned to a posture with governments and regulators that will be defined by conflict and discord. It does not have to be this way.”
The royal set up a Cyberbullying task force to tackle the bullying issues online, and the issue has become more prominent for the royal since becoming a father to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
He and wife Kate Middleton, who joined him at the event at the BBC, “grappled with this, we felt a distinct absence of guidance. Should we read our children’s messages?”
William told the crowd, “Should we allow them to have phones and tablets in their rooms? Who do we report bullying to?”
“We were making up the rules as we went along.”
“And when I worked as an Air Ambulance pilot or traveled around the country campaigning on mental health, I met families who had suffered the ultimate loss. For too many, social media and messaging was supercharging the age-old problem of bullying, leaving some children to take their own lives when they felt it was unescapable.”
William finished, “I am worried though that our technology companies still have a great deal to learn about the responsibilities that come with their significant power.”
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