Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released a video urging social media companies to reduce the amount of harmful content children see online.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released the clip last night of their appearance at a World Mental Health Day discussion in New York on October 10 last year.

They issued the video on their Archewell website following a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child safety which took place in Washington yesterday – and saw politicians warn social media giants: ‘You have blood on your hands’.

During yesterday’s hearing, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg stood up and apologised to families who say social media contributed to their children’s suicide or abuse.

In the video – released with a statement on online child safety – Meghan says: ‘When the car was first invented, there wasn’t a seatbelt. And what happened? People started to get hurt, people started to die. So you started to change the car.’

Harry says: ‘We need to get out of this idea that young kids, there’s something wrong with them. No, it’s the world that we’re allowing to be created around them. Please stop sending children content that you wouldn’t want your own children to see.’

And Meghan adds: ‘Everyone now is affected by the online world and social media. There is an entry point that’s positive and creative community, but we all just want to feel safe.’

The couple described the hearing on online child safety yesterday as being ‘in front of a packed room including dozens of parents whose children have suffered or died due to online harms’.

They added that their Archewell Foundation has been ‘working with many of these families to provide a support network for parents dealing with grief or who have children managing serious mental health conditions as a result of their exposure to harmful online content’.

In a joint statement accompanying the video on their website, the Sussexes said: ‘We applaud the bravery and determination of the thousands of parents around the country whose advocacy resulted in this hearing.

‘Over the past few years, we have spent time with many of these families, listening to their heartache and their hopes for the urgent change that is needed in the online space.

‘This is an issue that transcends division and party lines, as we saw today at the Senate hearing. The best parenting in the world cannot keep children safe from these platforms.

‘As one of the fathers shared with us: “If love could have saved them, all of our children would still be here”.

‘This is not the time to pass the buck of responsibility. It’s the time to make necessary change at the source to keep our children safe.’

The video dates back to October 10 last year when the Sussexes urged social media companies to reduce the amount of harmful content children see online to protect their mental health.

Harry and Meghan made the remarks at a mental health awareness festival run by non-profit Project Healthy Minds in New York.

The royal couple, who have spoken about their own mental health issues, took part in a panel discussion alongside US surgeon general Vivek Murthy moderated by NBC host Carson Daly, who has spoken of his struggles with anxiety.

The event, on World Mental Health Day 2023, was co-ordinated by the Archewell Foundation.

The couple called on social media firms to adopt better content moderation policies and tweak apps which can prove addictive for youngsters.

They spoke after hearing from parents who have lost children to mental health issues linked to social media use.

The Duke urged tech bosses to ‘stop sending children content you wouldn’t want your own children to see’.

The Duchess said she and her husband are focusing on what they can do behind the scenes to make social media use ‘safer, better and more positive’ and that the couple have spoken to tech executives about the issue.

She added: ‘People are getting hurt – and people, specifically children, are dying.

‘A year ago we met some of the families, not all of them. At that time, it was impossible to not be in tears as I’m sure so many of you have been today hearing these stories.

‘As parents, our kids are really young – they’re two-and-a-half and four-and-a-half – but social media is not going away.

‘I think by design, there is an entry point that is supposed to be positive, in creating community and something has devolved, and there is no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard.’

In the UK on the same day, the Princess of Wales gave a speech to young people gathered in Birmingham for a day of workshops and discussions to mark World Mental Health Day, with her husband Prince William in the audience.

It comes as US politicians last night warned social media giants that they ‘have blood on your hands’ – with the bosses of Meta, TikTok and others grilled over the dangers faced by children on their platforms.

Testifying before senators and the families of children who died after being bullied or abused online, they were told: ‘You have a product that’s killing people.’

The US government is trying to push through online safety laws over concerns the websites are rife with child exploitation.

Reports have persistently highlighted the risks to young users, such as algorithms connecting teens to paedophiles.

Among those giving evidence to the Senate judiciary committee yesterday were the chief executives of X, Snapchat, and TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew.

But the heaviest fire was focused on Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, who runs Facebook and Instagram.

Meta is facing a lawsuit brought by 40 US states jointly accusing it over alleged failures to safeguard its youngest users.

Prosecutors say newly unsealed internal documents show the firm knew its algorithms were putting children in danger despite claiming publicly they were safe.

Yesterday, Senator Richard Blumenthal highlighted how in 2021 Mr Zuckerberg had rejected pleas from former British deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg, then head of global affairs, to employ 80 staff to tackle harmful content over concerns of a ‘lack of investment’.

Senator Blumenthal said estimates showed the move would have cost an estimated £40million – at a time when Meta had earned £7billion in just one quarter.

He said: ‘That is an example, from your own internal documents, of failing to act.

‘It is the reason why we can no longer trust Meta – and frankly any of the other social media – to grade their own homework.’

Senator Lindsey Graham was applauded in the hearing room when he said: ‘Mr Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands. You have a product that’s killing people.’

At one point, Mr Zuckerberg got up and turned towards the rows of families of victims attending the hearing to apologise for what had happened to their loved ones.

In the UK, social media firms will have to remove illegal content and protect children from harmful material under the Online Safety Act.

If they fail to comply, Ofcom would be able to dish out huge fines – and send bosses to jail if they still fail to clear up their act.

The death of 14-year-old Molly Russell – who took her life after being bombarded by self-harm and suicide content online – played a major role in pushing the legislation through Parliament.

Last night, her father Ian Russell said: ‘Today Mark Zuckerberg displayed outright denial about Meta’s role in damaging the health and wellbeing of a generation of teens.

‘Like Big Tobacco decades before, Big Tech is actively evading the industrial level harm it’s causing to young people.’