A British artificial intelligence company co-founded by one of the creators of fintech unicorn Tide has urged Members of Parliament to rethink the UK’s growing debate over children’s smartphone use, warning that policymakers are being pushed into what it calls a “false choice” between outright bans and unrestricted access.
SafetyMode, a London-based child safety technology firm led by Tide founder George Bevis, has written to all MPs arguing that neither extreme addresses the realities of how children already interact with digital devices. Instead, the company is calling for a third approach centred on on-device safety tools that give parents direct control over what children see and experience online.
The intervention comes at a politically sensitive moment, just days after a US court ruling found that major social media platforms had knowingly designed addictive features targeting young users. The judgment has intensified scrutiny of Big Tech and added momentum to calls for tighter regulation in both the United States and Europe.
In the UK, pressure has been building for stricter limits on under-16s using social media, with support cutting across party lines. However, SafetyMode argues that debate has become overly polarised.
“Right now, the entirety of the conversation around social media and phone safety seems to pretend all we can achieve is either to open the floodgates entirely or to ban them completely,” the company said in its letter to MPs, seen by Business Matters. “We are losing sight of solutions that allow children to benefit from technology while remaining protected.”
Founded by Bevis alongside Bertie Aspinall and product specialist Dan Barker, SafetyMode has developed parental control software that operates directly on devices rather than relying on cloud-based monitoring. The company says this approach enhances privacy by keeping children’s data on the handset while filtering harmful content in real time.
Much of its development work has been informed by research conducted with parenting forum Mumsnet. Surveys cited by the firm suggest that more than 90 per cent of parents believe current smartphones are unsafe for children, while 86 per cent report concerns over mental health and attention issues linked to device use.
Bevis warned that policymakers risk relying on blunt regulatory tools. “Regulation has a role, but it is slow. It cannot be the only answer if we want to protect children today,” he said.
Co-founder Bertie Aspinall said responsibility could not rest solely with governments or tech giants. “If platforms will not solve this themselves, then safety must be built into the device,” he said.
SafetyMode’s system uses contextual AI to detect harmful interactions rather than relying solely on keyword filtering, identifying patterns of abuse, sexual content or manipulation in real time.
The company currently operates on Android devices only and has criticised Apple’s restrictions on third-party tools, arguing that they limit parental control innovation on iPhones.
As Westminster weighs potential restrictions on children’s social media access, SafetyMode is urging MPs to consider whether regulation should remove access entirely or empower families with tools to manage it safely.
