Prince Harry backs EU drive to protect children online, as Meghan makes first appearance since father’s court case

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, on Tuesday backed the European Union’s campaign to protect children from online harassment during a visit to the European Parliament in Brussels, where Harry accused social media companies of failing to make their platforms safer.

In an emotional speech, Harry said children had been left exposed to online harassment and bullying, sometimes with fatal consequences. “These companies have caused so much harm, there has to be accountability,” he said at an event organised by the Parliament’s Intergroup on Children’s Rights.

He defended a strong regulatory approach and described the widespread addiction that social media creates as “brainwashing on an extraordinary scale”. Addressing a packed room of MEPs, parliament staff and journalists, he said: “The number of you who continue to look at your phones throughout this process is an example of that.”

“Every time you look at your phone, just remember that there is a child out there that is looking at that phone 20-30 times – more probably – considering taking that life because they don’t know how to escape,” he added.

“I’m not here as an expert or a politician. I’m here as a father. My wife, a mother,” he told the Parliament. He said children “deserve to feel safe wherever they are”, including in classrooms and playgrounds, and added: “I’m not asking for a world without technology.” He called for stronger safety measures and a greater focus on prevention.

Harry also praised the proposed EU Kids Act, which aims to strengthen protections for children online, for shifting the burden of responsibility from parents to social media companies.

Meghan appears after father’s court hearing

Meghan made her first public appearance since her estranged father, Thomas Markle, was charged in the United States with possession of child sexual abuse material. Markle appeared in court in Florida on Friday. He is currently under home detention and subject to electronic monitoring, and has previously denied the allegations.

The duchess joined Harry for private meetings with MEPs and for the event attended by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, but did not deliver a planned speech. She reportedly withdrew because she did not feel emotionally strong enough, with the past two weeks said to have been emotionally difficult. Harry did not refer to Markle in his remarks.

She was seen holding her husband’s hand tightly as the couple arrived at the Paul-Henri Spaak building, and she did not respond to reporters’ questions about how she was feeling. Sources close to the couple said the past few weeks had been emotionally challenging, but it is understood she felt it was important to attend in support of affected families.

Meghan has been estranged from her father for several years. He did not attend her 2018 wedding in Windsor, citing “ill health” at the time. When reports about him emerged last month, including allegations that he possessed child sexual abuse images, she said she was “deeply distressed at the news” and hoped that “justice will be fully served”.

The couple unveiled the “Lost Screen Memorial”, first launched in New York last year. The display features photographs of young people whose deaths have been linked to online harms. They were joined by Sandra Spitaels, whose 15-year-old son Glenn took his own life after a nude image of him was shared on social media.

Harry took a similar stance at a private event attended by Metsola. “We heard from young people that short-form addictive scrolling is when things really changed for the worse. It should be simple enough to disallow that feature,” he said, according to a copy of the speech seen by Euronews.

Following his speech, he took part in a panel discussion. He said everyone had a responsibility to protect children from companies that “clearly don’t care”, adding that a “handful of very powerful people” wanted to see a social media world characterised by “lawlessness, little consequence, complete chaos (and) division”.

Harry had to walk through a crowd of onlookers as he moved through the Parliament, with many assistants craning to take photos or videos of him. He did not answer reporters’ questions. The couple’s visit was described as quieter and more subdued than Meghan’s public appearance in Nottingham last month.

Harry and Meghan have spent years campaigning for stronger online protections and supporting families who have lost children to online harms. Belgian MEP Hilde Vautmans asked the Duke of Sussex to be “the Godfather” of the fight against online harassment worldwide, citing the media attention he can attract.

The European Parliament is currently debating the proposed EU Kids Act. It includes measures to delay children’s access to social media, introduce age verification checks and strengthen default safety protections, including restrictions on addictive features.

Last week, the European Commission warned TikTok that it must change the “harmful” design of its personalised “For You” feed or risk large fines under the bloc’s digital rules, after finding preliminary evidence of violations. European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica said this was the latest in a long series of EU actions against large social media platforms to reduce risks for children.

Metsola also called for more legislation across Europe criminalising serious online harassment and the distribution of intimate images without consent.