A UK charity involved in campaigns on child internet safety has been accused of censoring young speakers after edits were made to their speeches for a major awareness event.
Childnet, which works on online safety education and is associated with Safer Internet Day activities, is at the centre of the complaint. According to an exclusive report by The Guardian, the organisation edited out warnings included by two teenagers who spoke at Childnet’s 2024 Safer Internet Day event.
The removed content related to concerns the young speakers wanted to raise in their prepared remarks. The report said the teenagers felt the edits contradicted the stated purpose of the event, with one describing the experience as “hypocritical”.
Safer Internet Day is promoted as a platform to encourage safer and more responsible use of online services, including for children and teenagers. Youth participation is often highlighted as a core element of such campaigns, positioning young people as key voices on how digital spaces affect them.
Childnet is a UK-based charity and, as noted in the report, receives part-funding from US technology firms. The funding links have become part of the scrutiny, as the censored passages reportedly included warnings that could be seen as critical of aspects of online platforms or digital risks.
The Guardian’s report described the incident as involving two separate youth speakers whose cautionary messages were edited out ahead of the event. The report characterised the edits as removing warnings from the teenagers’ speeches rather than routine copy-editing for length or clarity.
The allegations have raised questions about how youth perspectives are handled within high-profile internet safety programmes, particularly when organisations involved have financial support from large technology companies.
The report did not indicate any broader changes to Safer Internet Day programming beyond the specific edits described. It also focused on the teenagers’ accounts of what was removed, and how they interpreted the decision.
Child online safety is a growing policy and public interest area in the UK and elsewhere, often involving collaboration between charities, schools, government bodies and the technology industry. Events such as Safer Internet Day are used to promote awareness among students and parents and to encourage safer online behaviour.
The Guardian report highlighted that the dispute centres on whether an event designed to amplify youth voices instead limited them, particularly on points the speakers considered important warnings for their peers.