Wes Streeting asks US expert Jonathan Haidt to address officials on social media ban for under-16s | Social media
Wes Streeting has asked Jonathan Haidt, best-selling author and leading advocate for a social media ban on under-16s, to speak to officials as he pushes for the UK to consider following Australia’s landmark ban.
After Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was open to tougher restrictions on young people, the health minister invited Haidt to an event attended by staff, charities and MPs.
Haidt came to prominence after writing The Anxious Generation, in which he argued that the widespread use of smartphones was causing a mental health crisis in young people.
He has become a global activist for stricter rules, including bans on social media for under-16s and smartphones in schools.
Starmer said on Monday he would consider all options to prevent young people from accessing social media. “We’re looking at Australia, there are different ways you can implement this,” he told a meeting with Labor MPs.
The Prime Minister also touched on the use of phones in schools, adding: “Nobody thinks there should be phones in schools.”
These comments reflected a change of heart for Starmer, who had previously said a social media ban would be difficult to control and could push young people into the dark web.
Labor MP Fleur Anderson, who has campaigned for tighter restrictions, said: “I’m really pleased to hear the Prime Minister is seriously looking at the Australian model. It’s time we regulate this and give young people the protection they need.”
Starmer’s words reflect a growing consensus from Westminster in favor of such a move; It’s a move spurred in part by controversy over how X’s AI tool allows users to create sexualized images of women and children.
On Tuesday, the Liberal Democrats’ Ed Davey became the latest party leader to leave the door open to a social media ban on young people, following a similar move by Reform England’s Nigel Farage.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch It was announced on Sunday If elected prime minister, he would introduce a ban and push for a ban from the opposition. Andy Burnham, the Labor mayor of Greater Manchester, also said he would support such a move.
Government ministers are divided on social media between enthusiastic supporters of the restrictions and those with concerns about how they will be implemented and what the impact will be on young people.
Streeting has been one of the strongest advocates for stronger action, telling the BBC last week: “I sometimes feel like my concentration span is suffering with doomscrolling and information being presented in shorter and shorter bite-sized chunks. And I worry about what that means for the development and cognitive development of a generation of children and young people.”
As well as the incident with Haidt, Streeting asked authorities to examine the details of the Australian ban, which came into effect at the beginning of this year.
Technology secretary Liz Kendall is also understood to be reviewing the Australian policy, but has not appointed a team to actively review it.
Allies say they are heeding warnings from charities such as the NSPCC that an outright ban could direct young people to the dark web and undermine efforts to teach them how to use social media responsibly.
Education Minister Bridget Phillipson and Culture Minister Lisa Nandy share similar concerns, according to government insiders.
Nandy commissioned a survey of 14,000 young people and found that most of them did not want an outright ban. He told the Guardian last year: “The challenge with banning social media is enforcement. Are we really saying that as a country we’re going to start prosecuting under-18s for using social media?”
Senior government sources say Labor colleagues are concerned about the possibility of supporting a Conservative Party-led bid to amend the child welfare and schools bill to include an under-16 ban.
The amendment, proposed by former minister John Nash, was signed by Labor MP Luciana Berger and Liberal Democrat Floella Benjamin.
Government officials believe enough Labor members could vote or abstain from voting for the amendment to ensure it passes when it is debated next week. The issue would then come before the House of Commons, where many Labor MPs would join the Conservative Party in supporting the issue.
