Peers urged to vote social media ban for under-16s

His peers in the House of Lords have been called to vote in support of a social media ban on under-16s in the UK.

Former schools minister Lord Nash has proposed changes to a bill that would raise the age limit for social media users. The legislation will be debated later on Wednesday.

The decision comes amid calls for the UK government to follow Australia in imposing a social media ban on young people last year – the first in the world.

But some campaigners and children’s charities opposed the move, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer did not rule out.

Earlier this week, Technology Minister Liz Kendall announced there would be a “rapid” consultation meeting on measures to “keep children safe online” and seek views on the effectiveness of the ban.

The benefits of the ban on those under 16, a night curfew and actions to prevent the “apocalyptic trend” will be evaluated.

It will also look at whether more robust age checks can be implemented by social media firms, who may be forced to remove or limit features that “lead to compulsive use of social media.”

England’s education inspectorate, Ofsted, will provide stricter guidance to schools to reduce phone use; including telling staff not to use their devices in front of students for personal reasons.

Conservative peer Lord Nash argued there was no need for consultation, partly because polls showed “the vast majority of parents want it”.

“There is a huge volume of evidence in academic studies around the world that show quite clearly that excessive use of social media is damaging to children’s health,” he told the BBC’s Today program.

He said his amendment proposes “pretty effective age verification.”

“Social media companies are extremely capable of doing very effective age verification, and they told me that too.”

He added: “We just want a few more years for kids to mature so they don’t have to deal with social media at 16, so they’re more likely to separate fact from fiction and can make better decisions.”

Lord Nash’s amendment to the Welfare of Children and Schools Bill was jointly supported by Labor member Baroness Berger, her Liberal Democrat counterpart Baroness Benjamin and independent cross-examiner Baroness Cass.

However, if the amendment is accepted in the House of Lords, it could be overturned by MPs in the House of Commons at a later stage.

On Sunday, more than 60 Labor MPs wrote to the prime minister, urging the government to take action, saying they, along with the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, supported the ban.

Online safety campaigner Baroness Kidron, founder and chair of the 5Rights Foundation, said there was a “growing call” for social media to be banned for under-16s.

The independent cross-reviewer said the support of more than 60 Labor MPs for the ban was “crucial” if the Lords approved the change.

Baroness Kidron told the BBC’s Politics Live program: “That means there are at least 60 people who don’t want to just walk the government benches [the division lobbies] and turn it over.

“That’s why this has become such a big deal.”

Baroness Kidron said the government was pushing a “hastily formed consultation”.

He said he was “absolutely furious” because “the consultation was not primarily about child safety, it was actually about the party leadership trying to deal with their own backbenchers.”

Culture Minister Lisa Nandy defended the “short and sharp” three-month consultation, saying there were “mixed views put forward about how to deal with this”.

He said: “I just want to say to anyone listening at home, because like them I have a little boy and it keeps me up at night thinking about some of the things he’s been exposed to online, I just want to say that whether we do something or not, we consult what we don’t do.

“We will tighten the law, introduce greater enforcement powers and other measures, and we are consulting on how best to move quickly to deal with this problem, which is a problem for every family in this country.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that if his party were in power, he could impose a social media ban on people under the age of 16.

“The Prime Minister is trying to copy the announcement the Conservatives made a week ago but still can’t get it right,” he said.

Liberal Democrats have called for movie-style age ratings to protect children.

Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Munira Wilson said there was “no time to waste protecting our children from social media giants” and that “this consultation risks being scrapped once again”.