Harry Urges Tech Firms to Protect Children
The Duke of Sussex told European lawmakers that social media must build child safety into products before young users arrive.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Pre-Teens
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Prince Harry addressed the European Parliament in Brussels on November 10, 2026, urging social media companies to build child safety into their products before children use them. He stood alongside parents whose children died after suffering online harm.
Why it matters
Harry's remarks add a high-profile voice to growing international pressure on platforms to design protections for minors rather than respond after harm occurs. The appearance connects policy debate with the personal experiences of bereaved families.
The address was delivered at the European Parliament in Brussels on November 10, 2026, followed by a panel discussion. No quantitative data on platform usage or harm was presented in the source material, and no company responses were recorded.
The players
Prince Harry
The Duke of Sussex, a member of the British royal family who has become an outspoken advocate on child online safety and related welfare causes.
European Parliament
The directly elected legislative body of the European Union, based in Strasbourg with committee work in Brussels, which has been active on digital regulation.
The details
Harry said many social media executives keep their own children off the platforms they build, and he called the platforms' addictive pull "brainwashing on an extraordinary scale." He asked the executives directly why they would create something they know will harm someone else's child, and closed with a call for safeguards to be built into the technology. He also attended the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial at the Parliament the same day.
Timeline
November 10, 2026: Harry addresses the European Parliament in Brussels and attends the Lost Screen Memorial opening.
Policy Backdrop
The remarks come as the European Union's Digital Services Act imposes obligations on large online platforms to protect minors, and Harry's call for safety by design pushes that framework further upstream into product development.
Parents of pre-teens may see more platforms announce built-in youth protections if pressure from policymakers and public figures continues. Until then, the default settings on the apps children use are set by the companies, not by families.
The takeaway
Parents can review the privacy and time-limit settings on the apps their pre-teens use rather than relying on defaults. Harry's argument is that safety should be designed in from the start, which makes it reasonable to ask platforms what protections they offer before a child signs up.
Further reading
For more on how online life shapes younger users, see our Pre-Teens coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Ghanamma.
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Should social media companies be required by law to build child safety into their apps?
