Harry urges EU Kids Act to impose duty of care on tech firms as Meghan appears post-father's arrest

Summary

ITV News covered Prince Harry's solo address to the European Parliament in Brussels on 10 November 2026, warning of social media's addictive design and calling for the proposed EU Kids Act to shift responsibility onto tech companies for child safety. Meghan Markle attended but withdrew from speaking, citing emotional strain after her father Thomas Markle's recent arrest on child sexual abuse material charges, which he denies. The event launched the Lost Screens memorial honoring children harmed online, featuring testimony from Sandra Spitaels about her son Glenn's 2017 suicide after a private nude photo was shared. Harry stressed prevention, criticized infinite scroll and data harvesting, and urged global standards so safety does not depend on nationality.

The report drew on Harry's live remarks, the mother's testimony, visuals of the installation, and context from prior campaign stops in New York, Los Angeles and Geneva. Chris Ship's package used on-the-ground footage, named the grieving parent, referenced Meta/Google/TikTok's California lawsuit, and noted the couple's absence from public events since the allegations surfaced.

Editorial Assessment

The broadcast accurately captures Harry's core arguments on design responsibility, the memorial's purpose, and the legislative moment around the EU Kids Act proposal introduced in September 2026. Claims about Glenn's death, the companies' legal challenge to California's addictive-features ban, and the timing of Markle's federal charges are verified by multiple outlets and court records. Viewers receive a clear sense of the campaign's emotional weight but miss fuller counterpoints: tech firms argue the rules raise First Amendment and parental-choice issues, age verification carries privacy trade-offs, and the Act remains in early parliamentary stages with potential amendments. The personal juxtaposition of the Markle arrest with a child-protection speech is noted factually but could skew perception toward sympathy or irony depending on the audience's prior view of the family; ITV presents it neutrally as context for her withdrawal. Overall a solid, timely package that prioritizes the families' stories while grounding the policy ask in Harry's words.