Harry warns ‘our kids can’t wait’ in call for change to tackle online harm

The Duke of Sussex has delivered a passionate speech in New York calling for action to tackle the “pervasive threat” the online world poses for children, warning: “Our kids can’t wait.”

Harry took part in the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Tuesday, appearing as a star guest, close to the end of the session entitled Everything Everywhere All At Once.

He suggested the harmful effects of social media meant people were being used for a “human experiment” rather than enjoying a “human experience”.

The King’s youngest son followed appearances earlier in the session by primatologist Jane Goodall, celebrity chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, former US president Bill Clinton, US politician and head of Nasa Bill Nelson, and billionaire philanthropists Hamdi Ulukaya, the boss of the US yoghurt firm Chobani, and Laurene Powell Jobs, who is the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Harry, who took to the stage solo and paced back and forth holding a microphone as he addressed the audience, said there was “critical work to do” and it was a “crisis that cannot be ignored”.

“We can’t wait. Our kids can’t wait,” the duke said.

He added: “We need a better digital future. One that we all deserve. We were promised a human experience. Instead, we’ve been a human experiment.”

The duke, whose Archewell Foundation launched the Parents Network last month as a support network for parents of children affected by online harm, said: “I stand before you today to speak about the pervasive threat that our online world poses to us, especially our children if we allow the status quo to remain.

“In an age where our lives are intertwined with technology, we cannot afford to only see the online world as a space for profitability, competition, and rapid growth.”

He urged people instead to “come together” to ensure the digital space is one that “fosters wellbeing, connection and hope”.

Harry is carrying out two days of engagements in the Big Apple on the east coast trip without the Duchess of Sussex during UN General Assembly High-Level Week and Climate Week.

The session, which discussed how to deal with the growing number of global challenges, touched on a wide range of issues, from Ms Goodall holding up a cardboard sign decorated with the slogan “Vote for nature! votefornature.com” to former American leader Mr Clinton calling for an end to lead poisoning suffered by children around the world.

In his 11-minute address, Harry stressed the surges in anxiety and depression linked to social media platforms, with challenges compounded by the spread of “unreliable and unfounded information”.

“These platforms are designed to create addiction,” Harry said.

“Young people are kept there by mindless, endless, numbing, scrolling, being force-fed content that no child should ever be exposed to.

“This is not free will. I, like many of you, did not grow up with a phone. Young people today possess an incredible understanding of technology that older generations may struggle to grasp.”

He described how young people should be empowered and given resources to shape the digital world, and, prompting applause, he called for shareholders to demand change from giant social media firms.

“So, why, why do the leaders of these insanely powerful social media companies still refuse to change?” the duke asked.

“Why are we holding them to the lowest ethical standards?

“In any other circumstance, a business would commit more resources to fixing the bug, instead of providing parents with more tips and tricks for navigating hostile environments. Shareholders need to demand change.”

Pulling out his mobile phone from his suit pocket, Harry told how a photo of his children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet served as his lock screen.

“My lock screen is a picture of my kids. What’s yours?” the duke asked.

Photos of young people shown as images on mobile phone lock screens appeared on the large screen behind Harry.

The duke said: “These children and thousands more meant the world to their families. Their beautiful faces you see before you, their smiles, their dreams, all lost, all too soon, and all because of social media.”

Harry said they were the inspiration for why his Archewell Foundation launched the Parents Network.

In a seeming nod to his antics in his younger days which prompted laughter in the audience, Harry said: “Some say kids will be kids and well, that may well be true. Kids may get into trouble. I know a thing or two about that.”

US broadcaster Katie Couric held sit-down chats with some of those taking part on stage, including Ms Powell Jobs and Mr Andres, but not with the duke.

Couric once wrote about Harry after interviewing him for the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 that he smelled of cigarettes and alcohol, with it appearing to “ooze from every pore”.

Chef Mr Andres was unveiled earlier this month as joining the judging panel for the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot Prize.

Mr Andres has described himself as a close friend of Harry and Meghan, and his World Central Kitchen not-for-profit has received funds from the Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation.

Harry’s appearance in New York came less than an hour before William’s environmental prize finalists were unveiled in the same city at the Earthshot Innovation Summit, with a pre-recorded video released of the prince, who did not travel to the US, announcing the winners.

Harry is estranged from his older brother William and has a strained relationship with his father the King.

The duke is set to briefly return to the UK to attend the WellChild annual awards next Monday.

Harry’s other events in New York on Tuesday will see him focus on Lesotho – the impoverished southern African country where he set up his Sentebale charity to support Aids orphans – at a UN General Assembly side event, and gather with the Travalyst organisation, which he founded to encourage the tourism sector to become more sustainable.