LESSONS from the damning 2017 Independent Jersey Care Inquiry continue to fail to be embedded across government, with the Island lagging behind other jurisdictions in protecting children from online dangers, a major scrutiny review has found.
The Children, Education and Home Affairs Panel’s report found that the Island’s safeguards remain weaker than those in the UK and Europe, particularly around checking users’ ages, holding tech companies to account and enforcing rules across borders.
The panel said Jersey’s current laws do not require social media or streaming platforms to check how old their users are – meaning children “may face fewer barriers” to accessing adult or harmful material than their peers in the UK, where the Online Safety Act requires websites to confirm users’ ages before they can view pornography or material related to self-harm or eating disorders.
It also said there were no clear rules that force platforms to remove illegal or harmful material or design their services to be safe for children.
“Unlike the UK’s Online Safety Act, Jersey has no equivalent obligations for platforms to prevent children from circumventing safety measures,” the report read. “In the absence of government-defined standards, platform-led content governance, driven by corporate policies, has become the default, raising concerns about consistency and accountability.”
And without cross-border enforcement agreements, the report warned that Jersey has little power to make overseas tech firms comply with local laws, but acknowledged that “legislating independently on an issue that is inherently international in nature, where influence over global digital platforms may be limited.”
The panel said the government’s decision not to hook into the UK Online Safety Act – which seeks to place new responsibilities on social media companies and search services to prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content – was taken by a single minister, Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel, without any formal documentation, consultation with the Council of Ministers, or scrutiny by the States Assembly.
“This lack of process limited opportunities for democratic oversight and public accountability,” the report read.
Deputy Catherine Curtis, who chairs the Panel, said such a major policy “should have been a considered decision involving the relevant ministers”.
She said the move showed that “the lessons and recommendations from the Care Inquiry have still not been embedded across government” and that it reflected “systemic failings” similar to those identified by the 2017 investigation into Jersey’s care system.
The inquiry, which exposed decades of abuse and neglect, called for children’s welfare to be placed “at the heart of decision-making” across government.
The scrutiny review – which returned 63 findings and 38 recommendations – called on the government to “prioritise the development of a comprehensive online safety strategy, with a particular emphasis on safeguarding children”.
It also recommended a “gap analysis” of existing laws to identify where Jersey lacks protection or oversight, for example, around cyberbullying, exploitation, or image-based abuse, which the Panel said were not consistently addressed by current legislation.
The panel also called for “policy and legislative guardrails” to ensure the safe and ethical use of AI, particularly for children.
The findings follow the JEP’s recent Artificial Realities investigation, which revealed that AI “nudification” apps were already being used to create fake intimate images of Islanders.
That series exposed how technology now allows explicit deepfakes to be produced for less than £1 and comes as ministers are due to ban the creation and sharing of such material.
The Panel also found that schools’ online-safety policies are outdated, that internet filters do not cover pupils’ mobile data use and “only apply to devices connected to school wi-fi”, and that children in care homes did not have consistent protection from harmful online content.
The report said protecting children from online harm “requires a whole-of-society approach, involving coordinated efforts across government departments, education, health, law enforcement, and the private sector” – and that responsibility for the online safety of the Island’s youngsters should sit with the Children’s Minister rather than the economic portfolio.
