As the UK government faces growing calls for an Australian-style ban on social media for children under 16, Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans for a consultation to explore all options for reform. The move comes after the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey sent a letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to back an amendment to stop children under 16 from using social media platforms.
The consultation, first reported by The Times, is expected to consider a range of measures, including a blanket ban or limits on app usage time. In a joint letter from the Bereaved Families for Online Safety, Esther Ghey described how her daughter had a “social media addiction” and was “exacerbated by the harmful content she was consuming online.”
“I speak not only as Brianna’s mother, but alongside many other bereaved parents who have lost their children to harms that began or were amplified online,” the letter read, signed by a number of grieving parents.
Starmer has said that “no options are off the table” when it comes to changes to the use of social media for children, and has discussed the Australian approach with the country’s Prime Minister. The expected announcement comes ahead of a vote in the Lords this week on an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, which would require social media platforms to stop children under 16 from using their services within a year of the bill passing.
More than 60 Labour MPs have signed an open letter urging the Prime Minister to back a ban for under-16s, arguing that “children are anxious, unhappy and unable to focus on learning” due to the consequences of “unregulated, addictive social media platforms.”
However, a joint statement from 42 child protection charities and online safety groups has warned that a blanket social media ban would not deliver the necessary improvements in child safety and wellbeing, and would treat “the symptoms, not the problem.” Instead, they have called for the government to strengthen the Online Safety Act to require platforms to robustly enforce risk-based age limits.
As the debate over the appropriate regulation of social media for young people continues, Starmer’s announcement of a consultation signals the government’s recognition of the pressing need to address this issue and protect the wellbeing of children in the digital age.