Lord Michael Hastings gave a cyber-awareness workshop on behalf of KPMG to primary-school children at JCG Prep to discuss some of the key online issues facing young people and how to protect themselves online.
He believes that telecoms firms have a duty to promote safe and responsible use of the internet in the same way that tobacco companies are now forced to display the health risks attached to smoking on their packaging.
Lord Hastings, who is KPMG’s global head of corporate citizenship, was awarded his peerage by the Queen in 2005 and is listed as one of the 100 most influential black people in Britain.
He said: ‘It is very easy to say schools are never doing enough. I think we place too much responsibility on schools to do just about everything.
‘There is a duty that sits with the parents or parents and also a duty that sits with the mobile phone providers.
‘We have accepted that the responsibility to educate people about the impact of tobacco sits with the companies that produce cigarettes and, similarly, we have to accept that alcohol manufacturers have a duty to teach people about safe drinking.
‘I do believe there is a duty that falls on the providers of mobile services as to how their material is presented.’
He added that schools had a role to play but if ‘society burdens schools with everything it struggles with’ children would not have time for their essential studies.
Lord Hastings said the internet was a ‘powerful tool’ which should be embraced and that, as more services are transferred online, Jersey needed to ensure everyone could access the internet safely.
‘We are seeing more healthcare services online,’ he said. ‘You can cut out some of the diagnosis time, and the NHS is restructuring the ability of doctors to serve others with greater needs by putting more online. To access that through the internet is a great benefit. I hope that Jersey would boost capacity of every age group to have equal accessibility, as well as having the knowledge of the risks and downsides.’
He added that it was especially important for older internet users who might not be as confident online as younger people.
Lord Hastings also spoke to senior business leaders, governing bodies and politicians at the Radisson Hotel.
