Nightmare for Keir Starmer as petition against policy hits milestone | Politics | News
Sir Keir Starmer is facing a major backlash against one of his key policies. Before announcing that he would resign last week, the Prime Minister announced that there would be a social media ban on children under the age of 16. Now, a petition against the move has garnered more than 215,000 signatures. The online document, which expires on August 11 and will be debated by MPs, had 215,188 supporters at the time of writing. He writes: “I don’t think the government should ban social media for those under 16. This is because for many young people, social media is a means of communicating with friends.
“Some people see social media as a lifeline. It’s a community, it’s a supportive network. That’s why I don’t think the government should ban it.” The government plans to use the same model as Australia for social media bans. This will capture algorithms as well as user-to-user platforms whose purpose is to enable social interaction and allow users to post material. Therefore, the ban will cover platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.
The government added that it does not intend to include messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal in the ban.
Sir Keir said: “Parents want to keep their children safe and happy but the online world has made this more difficult than ever.
“I have heard firsthand from families crying out for change, and we will act accordingly.
“That’s why we’re going further than any other country in the world by banning social media for under-16s and implementing broader safeguards to give children back their childhood.
“It’s a line in the sand. Tech giants had their chance and failed, but we’re stepping in to protect children, support parents and create a new normal for future generations.”
Eight in 10 Australian teenagers are reportedly still accessing social media in the months after the country’s ban on under-16s came into force, according to research.
Findings from a small study into the initial effects of the world-first ban found there was “insufficient evidence of significant early effects”, according to research from Newcastle University.
Technology Minister Liz Kendall admitted the ban would not be a “complete magic bullet”, saying the ban was about providing clarity for parents and children and resetting expectations and social norms around young people’s use of social media.
