MPs call for statutory social media ban for children under 16
MPs have urged the Government to enforce a statutory ban on the use of social media for children under 16, as they said tech companies cannot be relied upon to self-regulate.
The consultation on access to social media for young people, which closes next week, floats a range of measures such as age restrictions and curfews.
But there have been widespread calls for an Australian-style ban on children’s use of social media, although questions have been raised about how effective that prohibition has been.
In a report setting out its response to the Government consultation, the Education Committee called for a ban, as well as measures to restrict harmful features and functionalities to protect children who manage to circumvent restrictions.
Chair of the committee, Helen Hayes, said: “From bullying and misogyny to abuse and sexual exploitation, children and young people growing up today face a deluge of serious harms whenever they log on to social media.
“The same platforms that connect them to their friends, or introduce them to new hobbies, are putting their mental health and wellbeing at risk.
“In the most extreme cases, inaction can have truly horrific consequences.
“Yet social media companies have not taken full responsibility for the behaviour on their platforms. Based on the evidence my Committee has received, I simply do not believe that companies who profit from interactions with children can be relied upon to self-regulate.”
In the report, the committee concluded online harms affecting children are “widespread, severe and systemic”.
It highlighted evidence from Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, and Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation – set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell who took her own life in 2017, who told MPs about the “devastating and tragic consequences that online harms can have in the most extreme cases”.
The committee found the harms are not accidental but occur because of platform design choices including infinite scrolling, autoplay and private messaging features.
Published: by Radio NewsHub