Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 25 June 2025
Thank you very much. When we began, I was struck that, in response to Mr Golden, you made the reasonable point that prosecution is just one part of the way in which all this has to be dealt with. I do not suppose that there is a right answer to my question, but I am interested in your opinion.
Shortly before he died, I did a programme with the late former First Minister. One of the questions that was asked before we went on air—it was a preamble—was about the use of digital technology and devices to intimidate children, leading to bullying, exploitation or whatever. It was interesting that the panel of adults all said what they had to say and the audience all did their usual, “Yes, that sounds very reasonable” and applauded, but after it was over some young people who had been in the audience came up to me and said, “You adults haven’t got a clue as to what is actually going on any longer in the digital era. You’re all too old. You don’t really understand the pace at which the technology and the apps and the ways in which they can be used are developing.” They felt that we were approaching the issue in a very noble way, but in complete ignorance of what is going on on the ground and of the way in which apps are being deployed and how things move from one day to the next. Standing there as a 66-year-old adult, I realised that that was probably true. I do not have the faintest idea how all those things are deployed.
In the challenge that you set of wider society understanding the harms and the ways in which violence is being perpetrated and digital technology being deployed, is the justice system, is the COPFS—are we—able to keep up with any of this? Is it moving at a pace that presents a challenge, the scale of which it is very difficult to grapple with or know how to properly respond to?
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