Starmer to consider all options on social media ban for under-16s
Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce consultation plans on social media restrictions on under-16s, as calls for an Australian-style ban grow.
Ministers are expected to make a statement on the consultations soon. Independent It is understood it comes after dozens of Labor MPs signed an open letter urging the prime minister to support the ban.
First reported consultation TimesIt is expected to look at all reform options, including a blanket ban or enforcement time limits.
It comes after the murdered teenager’s mother, Brianna Ghey, wrote to the prime minister, urging him to support an amendment that would ban children under 16 from using social media platforms.
In a joint letter to Bereaved Families for Online Safety on Monday, Esther Ghey described how her daughter had a social media addiction that was “made worse by the harmful content she consumed online.”
“I speak not only as Brianna’s mother, but also among the many other grieving parents who have lost children to harm that began or amplified on the Internet,” the letter, signed by several grieving parents, said.
“Some have lost their children after being groomed by online predators, others due to dangerous online challenges, and others after prolonged exposure to self-harm and suicide content.”
She adds: “The online world our children live in and the harm it brings are immense. We need a multi-pronged approach that includes legislation, regulation, education and social change to properly address this crisis.”
On Monday Sir Keir said “no options are off the table” when it comes to changes to children’s use of social media.
“We are clearly looking at what is happening in Australia, which is something I have discussed with the Australian prime minister (Anthony Albanese),” the prime minister said.
“I don’t think this is just an issue about social media and children under 16. I think we need to look at a range of measures.”
The expected announcement comes ahead of a vote in the Lords this week on an amendment to the Child Welfare and Schools Bill that would require social media platforms to prevent children under 16 from using their platforms within one year of the bill coming into force.
It comes after more than 60 Labor MPs signed an open letter urging the prime minister to support the under-16 ban.
The letter calls on the government to take action to “protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms.”
“We hear the same message across our constituencies: children are anxious, unhappy and unable to focus on learning,” it reads. “They don’t develop the social skills needed to thrive or have the experience that will prepare them for adulthood.”
The letter, signed by education select committee chair Helen Hayes, former whip Vicky Foxcroft and former education secretary Catherine McKinnell, along with dozens of supporters, says Britain risks being “left behind” if it does not act.
England’s largest teaching union also said the prime minister should fully support the change to an outright ban.
National Education Union (YDB) general secretary Daniel Kebede said it was a “welcome change” that Number 10 had signaled it was open to raising the age limit for social media.
Mr Kebede said: “Additional pressure from Labor MPs must lead Keir Starmer to give his full support to this amendment to ban social media for under 16s. This cannot be a moment for passivity – it requires leadership
“Parents and teachers see every day how social media shapes children’s identities and attention spans long before they even sit their GCSEs, drawing them into isolating, endless loops of content.”
But over the weekend, 42 child protection charities and online safety groups issued a joint statement warning that a blanket social media ban would not deliver the improvement needed in child safety and wellbeing and would treat “the symptoms, not the problem”.
The government should instead strengthen online safety legislation to require platforms to strongly enforce risk-based age limits, the organizations said.
