Peers heap pressure on Starmer with vote for Australia-style social media ban for children
The House of Lords’ backing of a social media ban on under-16s has added to mounting pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to apply Australian-style pressure.
The Prime Minister tried to block the vote by launching a consultation on potential restrictions.
Technology Minister Liz Kendall announced this week that a three-month consultation meeting will be held in the summer to consider the pros and cons of the ban, as well as possible night curfews and actions to prevent “apocalypse slides”.
But former schools minister Lord Nash said the consultation only represented further delay.
His Tory peer argued the evidence was “overwhelming” for the ban, with support ranging from “medical experts to our police and national intelligence community, from our teachers to hundreds of thousands of parents”.
But colleagues backed Tory Lord Nash’s amendment to the Child Welfare and Schools Bill calling for an outright ban by a majority of 111 votes, 261 to 150.
Sir Keir now faces the prospect of a backseat when he returns to the House of Commons after more than 60 Labor MPs publicly called for Britain to follow Australia, which became the first country to ban young people from social media.
Just hours before the vote the chief inspector of schools watchdog Oftsed said he would consult earlier on a potential ban.
Sir Martyn Oliver welcomed the government’s action but said it was “a little too late”.
Former schools minister Lord Nash rejected the consultation, arguing it meant further delay when there was already “overwhelming” evidence for a ban. “The time for delay and procrastination is over,” he said.
Her amendment had cross-party support and was jointly supported by Labour’s Baroness Berger, Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Benjamin and independent crossbench Baroness Cass.
Supporters of the ban say social media harms children’s health, including their mental health, and leads to radicalization and crime.
But opponents warn it could lead young people into a dangerous ‘dark web’.
The NSPCC, among others at the weekend, said blanket bans were “a blatant response that fails to address the repeated failures of technology companies and governments to act decisively and early”.
But film producer and children’s rights campaigner Baroness Kidron said the consultation announcement was an “insult” to Parliament, parents and young people and warned it would delay steps to keep children safe online.
Sir Keir Starmer had previously told MPs that the consultation would “look at expert and international evidence to get this right”; these included age and addictive properties, as well as restrictions on screen time for under-fives.
The Prime Minister also promised to report back by summer.
