We created Robbed: Big Tech’s Little Victims, the campaign that helped move children’s social media harms from a growing concern to a national political priority, culminating in Government plans to raise the age of access to 16 and the NEU being recognised as a key campaigner on the issue.
NEU – Big Tech’s Little Victims campaign
Changing policy on children’s social media access
challenge
The National Education Union (NEU) wanted to force action on one of the most urgent issues facing children today: the harm caused by social media platforms designed to maximise attention and profit.
Teachers and parents were seeing the consequences every day, from anxiety, sleep disruption and poor concentration to the spread of misogynistic, extremist and harmful content.
But in April 2025, the Government said it would not support an Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s, while much of the debate remained focused on smartphones and screentime.
Our challenge was to help shift the conversation towards the real issue: profit-driven algorithms harming children in real time.
solution
We built the campaign around a simple truth: children are being robbed of childhood for profit.
This framing transformed a complex policy issue into a clear moral argument, shifting responsibility from parents and young people to the social media companies profiting from their attention. We brought the idea to life through an integrated campaign spanning media, social, creative, paid and public affairs, alongside our partners Inflect.
The campaign launched with The Robbed Report, combining polling, teacher testimony and policy recommendations with a Westminster stunt featuring “wanted” posters of Big Tech billionaires. To sustain momentum, we created The Algorithm Experiment, using fictional 13-year-old social media profiles to reveal how quickly harmful content was served by major platforms.
As pressure mounted and the Government wrapped up it’s public consultation, we deployed a final campaign moment designed to maximise political pressure at a critical decision point, keeping the issue front and centre in both the media and Westminster.
impact
400+
pieces of coverage, with a combined reach of 3 billion, helped turn children’s social media harms into a national conversation and build pressure behind the UK Government’s decision to raise the age of social media access to 16
8m
views and 90,000 engagements for 'The Algorithm Experiment', which became Good Morning Britain’s top story and one of its best-performing social posts of the year
843,000+
organic views for the campaign short film, with a 5.63% engagement rate.
37
MP briefings and a Parliament drop-in attended by 18 MPs and peers, helping take the campaign message directly to decision-makers
4
major platforms publicly responded to the pressure created by the campaign
1
major policy shift, with NEU credited by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as a key campaigner when plans to ban social media for under-16s were announced
The Algorithm Experiment
Natalie Cassidy speaking on Good Morning Britain
Watch the video here
“Forster helped us turn a complex issue into a campaign people could instantly understand and care about. Their strategic thinking, creativity and media expertise helped build real pressure on Big Tech and Government, while bringing home the reality of what children are being exposed to online.”
Taidgh Pledger,
National Campaigns Manager, The National Education Union
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