B7: The Right to Speak: Accessible UK-Based Phone Contact for UK Consumers

Dyslexia affects approximately 1 in 10 people in the UK, making written communication
slower, more stressful, or inaccessible without assistive tools. Text-only customer service
systems disproportionately exclude disabled people, elderly customers, and those with
additional communication needs.

Increasingly, businesses operating in the UK — particularly large technology and social media corporations — rely on offshore, automated, or written-only customer service sys-
tems. These practices are frequently used to reduce costs, weaken accountability, and limit meaningful engagement with customers and workers.

The UK economy is now heavily dependent on large technology and social media platforms
to facilitate gig-based and precarious work. Many people rely on platforms such as
YouTube, Meta-owned services, ride-hailing apps, and food delivery platforms as their
primary or sole source of income.

There are numerous documented cases of workers and content creators having their ac-
counts suspended or permanently removed through fully automated systems, often with-
out clear explanation or human oversight. In these situations, individuals can instantly lose their livelihood, leaving them unable to pay rent or bills.

In such cases, affected individuals are frequently denied the ability to speak to a human
being. Appeals processes are typically limited to automated forms and scripted responses,
treating people as data points rather than as human beings with unique circumstances.

This process is deeply de-humanising and demoralising, and can have serious impacts on
mental health, dignity, and financial security. Young Greens believe that in situations
where a person’s income or access to essential services is at stake, there must be a right
to speak to another person — not merely to interact with an algorithm.

Requiring UK-based customer contact ensures that decisions affecting UK residents are
handled by people who are subject to UK employment law, regulatory standards, and
social context. UK-based staff are more likely to understand the lived realities of those
affected and to exercise discretion, empathy, and accountability.

Mandating that large corporations provide UK-based telephone contact would also cre-
ate significant employment opportunities within the UK. Given the scale of users on major social media and technology platforms, compliance would necessitate the hiring of
thousands of UK-based customer service workers.

This policy would therefore both strengthen consumer and worker protections and actively
support job creation, countering the widespread outsourcing of labour and the erosion of
employment standards.

Young Greens affirm that accessibility, accountability, and human dignity must take
precedence over corporate cost-cutting and automation. Speaking to a human being should be a basic right in an economy increasingly dominated by powerful, unaccountable
platforms.