Prince Harry urged tech companies to be more transparent about issues involving children as he and his wife, the former Meghan Markle, made their first public appearance on Tuesday since her father’s arrest on suspicion of possessing images of child abuse.
Harry spoke at the European Parliament in Brussels during the opening of a memorial to children who have died as the result of harm suffered on social media. The Lost Screen Memorial features replicas of oversized smartphones with the photo of a deceased child on each home screen.
Meghan, also known as the Duchess of Sussex, was originally scheduled to speak alongside Harry but withdrew because she was not “strong enough emotionally,” a person familiar with her reasoning said. She still accompanied her husband to the event.
The allegations against Thomas Markle Sr. surfaced last month. He appeared in a Florida courtroom on Friday charged with possessing child sexual abuse material. The 82-year-old has previously strongly denied the allegations, labelling them as “sick lies.”
Harry appeared emotional during his speech as he urged social media companies to avoid showing children content they would not show their own children. He also called on the companies to be more transparent and helpful to parents, particularly those seeking access to their children’s devices and social media accounts to understand what happened to them online.
“For many parents, even though their child killed themselves, they’ve had to wait years – in some instances, eight years – to get access to their child’s phone,” Harry said. “Because of the company’s privacy policies, the parents were blocked from finding out how their child died. That cannot be right.”
