Starmer hints he could back social media ban for under-16s

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer did not rule out banning British under-16s from social media, saying “all options are on the table”.

He said more needed to be done to protect children from social media and that he had been watching “what’s going on in Australia” where the ban had recently been introduced.

Privately, many Labor MPs and officials have said they expect the UK government to follow Australia’s example.

Next week the House of Lords will vote on the ban proposals; If this proposal is accepted, the pressure on the government to take action may increase.

Last week, the Conservatives announced that if they won the next election they would ban under-16s from accessing social media platforms and ban smartphones in schools.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said “addictive” social media apps were “very strongly associated” with rising mental health problems among young people.

Labour’s Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he agreed with “much of what Kemi Badenoch said” about social media use.

Earlier this week, Meta announced it had blocked nearly 500,000 accounts across its sites, including Facebook and Instagram, in the first week of compliance with the new law in Australia.

Asked whether he would support the ban in England, Sir Keir said: “We need to better protect children from social media.

“We’re looking at what’s happening in Australia – whether it’s under-16s’ use of social media, which is something I’m very concerned about, under-5s and screen time, all options are on the table in terms of how we can provide greater protection.

“Children are coming to reception as young as four because they spend so much time on screens.”

Some Labor MPs and officials have privately expressed disappointment that Badenoch and Burnham were able to get ahead of the government on the issue.

“That’s where we will inevitably end up. That’s what the public and parents want. I don’t know what’s kept us going for so long,” a senior government source said.

This week’s clash with X over Grok AI, This incident, which Downing Street claims will “prove it right”, may encourage the government to embark on a new fight with big technology companies.

The issue could come to a head next week when the House of Lords votes on an amendment to the Children’s Welfare and Schools Bill that will prevent under-16s from accessing social media.

It was tabled by Conservative former education minister Lord Nash, but is jointly supported by Liberal Democrat peer and former children’s TV presenter Baroness Benjamin; Labour’s Baroness Berger and Baroness Cass, an independent member of the House of Lords and a paediatrician.

Those who support the amendment are optimistic it will pass.

If that happens, the House of Commons would need to hold a binding vote on the issue within the next few months.

Asked whether the government would impose a ban, Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that social media could create “greater connections and a sense of belonging” but also came with risks such as “the harms of messing with young people’s developing minds”.

“And then there’s the really malicious, extreme stuff,” he added, citing exposure to pornography, grooming or violent extremism.

“We must consider traditional approaches in the modern environment.

“When I was growing up, no one would dispute that using tools like a hammer or a saw was a good skill for young people to learn.

“What would never happen is that a kindergarten or elementary school child would be given a box of nails and left unattended with it. That’s sort of what we do with cell phones.”

The Molly Rose Foundation, a suicide prevention charity, expressed concern about the “unintended consequences of the bans”, arguing that it risked “injuring unregulated areas rather than making products safe for children”.

Andy Burrows, chief executive of the charity, said: “The government must respond to decisive calls for action from parents by fixing regulation with evidence-based solutions, not simplistic and populist calls for social media bans that risk doing more harm than good.

“They must immediately publish the review they have been working on for six months on smartphones and social media so parents can see what the evidence really says and the government can act quickly and decisively to protect children by doing what is right, not what is easy.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology said the study “will be published in due course”, adding: “We are considering next steps in the light of the results.”

“We are committed to keeping children safe online and will continue to develop policies based on the best available evidence.”

Under the Online Safety Act, tech companies are required to prevent young people from being exposed to harmful content related to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography.

Platforms that fail to comply with the law could face fines, imprisonment or, in the most serious cases, a ban in the UK.

Some social media companies already impose restrictions on how young people can use their platforms; For example, Instagram requires users to be at least 13 years old.

Meta created Teen Accounts for the Instagram and Facebook apps, which allow parents to control the security settings on their kids’ accounts and set time limits on how much time the user can spend in the app.

The company also says it automatically blurs messages it detects to contain nudity and hides offensive messages sent to Teen Accounts.