Despite his and his wife’s famous protection of their kids and their privacy, Prince Harry has declared he is against a social media ban for children.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, has son Archie, five, and three-year-old daughter Lilibet with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 43, and despite the couple’s famous protection of their kids’ privacy, the father-of-two has now declared barring youngsters from platforms such as X and Instagram is a bad idea as it could spark family arguments and bullying by classmates.
He told The New York Times’ columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin at the newspaper’s DealBook Summit he thought companies should instead be subjected to more rigorous rules over being transparent and accountable in relation to their policies over children’s use of their social media offerings.
Harry declared posting online had been “intentionally” engineered to be “addictive”, saying banning or axing it “creates all sort of problems”.
He said: “I try to think at these things through the lens as a dad. It’s not a coincidence that the world has become more volatile and more divided since social media has been around for 20 years.”
Harry also used the event to declare he is “enjoying” life in the US too much to ever return to the UK.
He added: “I very much enjoy living here and bringing up my kids here.”
Harry also said there are activities he “undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the UK” with his children – citing concerns about his security after his royal protection was scaled back following his US move, which led him to fight for it to be restored in a series of court hearings this year.
He added his focus now is on “being the best husband and the best dad that I can be”.
Harry and Meghan relocated to Montecito, California, in the summer of 2020 months after quitting duties as working senior royals.
The duke has been on a string of solo trips back to the UK this year alone.
His remarks come amid reports he faces the “strong possibility” his immigration documents may be made public in the wake of Donald Trump’s US election victory.
Harry has been at the centre of demands for months by the Heritage Foundation think tank to have his visa application records revealed after he admitted in his 2023 memoir ‘Spare’ to recreational drugs use – something he would have been required to disclose in his immigration documents.
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