Why is the UK considering a social media ban for under-16s?

In an assertive move, over 60 Labour MPs have urged Sir Keir Starmer to implement a ban on social media usage for individuals under 16. The MPs argue that current measures are insufficient to safeguard young people from the unregulated and potentially addictive nature of social media platforms.

What prompted Keir Starmer’s shift in stance on the ban?

Initially, Sir Keir Starmer was against adopting a ban similar to Australia’s restrictions on social media access for under-16s. However, he has reversed his position in a strategic effort to avert a significant rebellion from his party’s backbenchers. This change comes as a response to an impending vote in the House of Lords on an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which seeks to prohibit social media access for those under 16. If the amendment passes, Starmer could face considerable opposition when the bill returns to the House of Commons, given the widespread support for the ban among Labour MPs.

What are the social media regulations for under-16s in Australia?

What are Australia’s social media rules for under-16s?

Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitch, Kick, X, YouTube and Reddit are banned, with fines of almost $50million for failing to take action in removing under-16s from their platforms. 

Who is in favour of the ban in the UK?

The 61 Labour MPs include Vicky Foxcroft, the former whip who helped lead the rebellion that forced the Government to shelve its proposed welfare cuts last year.

Meanwhile, Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, joined voices calling for a ban as she wrote to Sir Keir urging him to take a ‘vital step in better protecting children online’.

A ban has also been supported by Baroness Hilary Cass, a paediatrician who led the review into NHS treatment of children with gender dysphoria, who said warned that the ‘longer we wait, the more children we fail’.

The amendment is also supported by Baroness Benjamin the Liberal Democrat peer and former children’s TV presenter.

Conservative former education minister Lord Nash.

The Labour peer Baroness Berger and an independent member of the House of Lords, who is a paediatrician, Baroness Cass.

Who is against it?

Several children’s charities have spoken out against a blanket social media ban. This includes the NSPCC, Childnet and and a suicide prevention charity called the Molly Rose foundation.

They were among 42 individuals and bodies who said the ban would be the ‘wrong solution’.

In a joint statement they wrote: ‘It would create a false sense of safety that would see children – but also the threats to them – migrate to other areas online,’ they wrote in a joint statement.

‘Though well-intentioned, blanket bans on social media would fail to deliver the improvement in children’s safety and wellbeing that they so urgently need.’

What would happen if it went ahead and when would it come into action?

The Government will consult on ‘determining the right minimum age for children to access social media, including exploring a ban for children under a certain age’. It plans to respond on the consultation in the summer.

The consultation will also look at other options, including restricting night-time use through curfews, limits on app time, and restricting addictive design features such as ‘infinite scrolling’.