In a powerful plea to party leaders, Esther Ghey, the mother of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey who was tragically murdered in 2023, has urged the UK government to support a ban on social media for children under the age of 16. Ghey believes such a prohibition would be a vital step in protecting young people from the harmful effects of online platforms.
In a poignant letter addressed to Sir Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, and Sir Ed Davey, Ghey revealed the profound struggles her daughter faced, describing Brianna’s “social media addiction” and her desperate desire to be “TikTok famous.” Ghey explained that this led to her daughter developing an eating disorder and self-harming, with the harmful online content exacerbating these issues.
The proposed amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, which seeks to compel social media companies to prevent under-16s from accessing their platforms, has already garnered significant backing. The National Education Union (NEU) and 61 Labour MPs have collectively written to the Prime Minister demanding “urgent action” on the matter.
While Prime Minister Starmer has not committed to supporting the ban, he acknowledged that the government is “looking at a range of options” and said he had discussed the policy with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose government introduced a similar ban last year.
However, the proposed amendment has faced some opposition, with 42 child protection charities and online safety groups issuing a joint statement warning that a blanket social media ban would not deliver the necessary improvements in child safety and wellbeing. Instead, they argue that the government should strengthen the Online Safety Act to require platforms to robustly enforce risk-based age limits.
Baroness Hilary Cass, a paediatrician who sits in the House of Lords, expressed her understanding of the charities’ reasoning but believes it is better to “start on the presumption of a ban and only allow apps that have been developed safely and do not target children with harmful algorithms.”
The Liberal Democrats have also called for film-style age ratings for social media, with some platforms legally restricted to users over the age of 16. Party leader Sir Ed Davey described this as a “smart approach that allows young people to benefit from the best of social media…while properly tackling the real harms it can cause.”
As the debate continues, Ghey’s impassioned plea serves as a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address the impact of social media on young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
