Young internet safety campaigner claims his social media warnings were 'censored'

Lewis Swire, now 19, of Edinburgh, said the most critical lines from a speech he was commissioned to write on internet safety were edited out.

Mr Swire, and a second young person, Saamya Ghai, were asked to speak at an event by Childnet, a UK charity part-funded by companies including Snap, Roblox and Meta.

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But Mr Swire said that several lines from their speech, including that scrolling online is making people “sick”, were removed.

Mr Swire has accused Childnet of censorship, however the charity strongly refuted the claims.

The issue arose two years ago when the then-17-year-old was asked to speak at an event to mark Safer Internet Day in 2024 in London.

The event was held in front of representatives from government, charities and tech companies.

One section cut included the line: “Social media companies are in bed with the very same psychology used to exploit gambling victims.”

Mr Swire, who was a member of Childnet’s youth advisory board, told reporters: “I felt like we were being censored and almost betrayed by this organisation which we wanted to represent with integrity.

“It was a pretty difficult experience.”

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According to copies of the speeches shared with The Scotsman, the charity also edited out lines saying social media is causing a “devastating epidemic” of isolation and children feeling addicted to using TikTok and Snap.

A spokesman for ChildNet denied censoring what the “young speakers” had to say but merely edited the speeches for length due to time constraints.

He said: “Time was short - four minutes per speaker - and they wanted to cover a lot of ground, so we supported them in the development of their speeches.

“All points, even those which were negative and challenging to the tech industry were included but needed to be succinct.”

This year’s Safer Internet Day is on Tuesday with more than 2,800 schools and colleges listed as taking part around the UK.

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The spokesman added: “The event provides a unique opportunity for policy makers and tech companies to hear from young people on a subject they are incredibly passionate about.

“We have a variety of supporters financially supporting the Day but none of them influence what we say to young people, what young people say at our events, the free education resources available to support the Day in schools or how we behave as a charity.”

Campaigners say the incident highlights the tension created by having tech giants part-fund safer internet charities.

Daisy Greenwell, the co-founder of the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign, added: “Young people’s voices are often positioned as the moral authority in debates about online safety, but too often those voices are only welcomed when they align with an organisation’s existing policy position.

“When young people are filtered until they echo a pre-approved line, that isn’t participation – it’s cover.”

Mr Swire is currently campaigning for a social media ban for under-16s.

Harry Amies, the co-founder of Unplug.Scot, a network of parents in Scotland concerned about the impact of screens and educational technology in classrooms, said: “The evidence that Lewis has presented has left us speechless.”