Brianna Ghey’s mum has released a five-point plan to help save children from the dangers of online trolls.
Esther Ghey launched a campaign to hold big tech companies to account after her 16-year-old daughter was stabbed to death by Eddie Ratcliffe, and Scarlett Jenkinson, both now 16.
The vile pair described trans Brianna as “it” and sent “dehumanising” messages over social media. Esther, 37, revealed she also received horrific transphobic messages and others telling her she was a failure as a mother.
She said: “The online world is toxic. There is so much trolling and abuse. I have received horrible stuff online. If I can make things better for young people with their mental health, and ... for parents, then Brianna’s death wasn’t for nothing. Children are socially isolated in an online world. They can sit behind keyboards and have the platform to say whatever they want, things they wouldn’t say in real life.”
Brianna, from Warrington, was “forced online” in the pandemic. Esther said her daughter was addicted to her phone and social media. The youngster impressed her tens of thousands of followers on TikTok with dances and make-up tips. But Brianna also started using websites with videos of self-harm and eating disorders.
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Esther added: “The algorithms mean once you are looking at certain things, social media sites keep showing them. But I didn’t know she was accessing this kind of content, and other parents probably don’t either.”
Brianna was murdered in February last year after being lured to a park by Ratcliffe, and Jenkinson. The pair were this year jailed for a minimum of 22 years and 20 years respectively. Love Island’s Georgia Steel, 26, told at the weekend how she too has been targeted by online trolls with “hate messages, death threats and abuse”.
Esther Ghey's Five Point Plan
1: Make mobile phone firms sell devices with monitoring apps and tamper-proof control already installed.
2: Roll out technology to monitor harmful words being searched online by young people and include it on mobile devices.
3: Introduce a public health awareness campaign on the dangers of children spending too long on their phones, with a recommendation their screen time be limited, ideally to two hours a day.
4: Sell phones that do not allow under-13s to access social media apps and oblige tech firms to make a concerted effort to verify a user’s age.
5: Introduce mindfulness lessons in schools.
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