UK to consult on social media ban for under 16s

The federal government will seek the advice of on whether or not social media needs to be banned for under-16s within the UK.

It mentioned “instant motion” would give Ofsted the ability to examine insurance policies on telephone use when it inspects faculties, and it anticipated faculties to be “phone-free by default” on account of the announcement.

An analogous ban took impact in Australia in December 2025, the primary of its type on the earth. Different international locations are mentioned to be contemplating such a legislation.

It comes after greater than 60 Labour MPs wrote to the prime minister concerning the difficulty, with the mom of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey additionally calling on the federal government to behave.

“Some argue that susceptible youngsters want entry to social media to seek out their neighborhood,” Brianna’s mom Esther Ghey wrote in a letter seen by the BBC.

“Because the guardian of an especially susceptible and trans baby, I strongly disagree.

“In Brianna’s case, social media restricted her potential to interact in real-world social interactions. She had actual pals, however she selected to stay on-line as a substitute.”

In keeping with The Division of Science, Innovation and Expertise, the session will “search views from dad and mom, younger folks and civil society” to find out the effectiveness of a ban.

It will additionally take a look at whether or not extra strong age checks could possibly be applied by social media companies, which could possibly be compelled to take away or restrict options “which drive compulsive use of social media”.

And Ofsted will give more durable steering to colleges to scale back telephone use – together with telling employees to not use their units for private causes in entrance of pupils.

The federal government will reply to the session in the summertime.

Expertise Secretary Liz Kendall mentioned the legal guidelines within the On-line Security Act have been “by no means meant to be the tip level” and mentioned she understood “dad and mom nonetheless have critical considerations”.

“We’re decided to make sure expertise enriches youngsters’s lives, not harms them – and to provide each baby the childhood they deserve,” she mentioned.

Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch has already mentioned her occasion would introduce a social media ban for under-16s if it was in energy.

She mentioned the session was “extra dither and delay” from Labour.

“The prime minister is attempting to repeat an announcement that the Conservatives made every week in the past, and nonetheless not getting it proper,” she mentioned.

Liberal Democrat schooling spokeswoman Munira Wilson mentioned there was “no time to waste in defending our kids from social media giants” and “this session dangers kicking the can down the highway but once more”.

Nationwide Training Union (NEU) common secretary Daniel Kebede known as the transfer a “welcome shift”.

“Day by day, dad and mom and lecturers see how social media shapes youngsters’s identities and a spotlight lengthy earlier than they sit their GCSEs, pulling them into isolating, infinite loops of content material,” he mentioned.

The Affiliation of Faculty and Faculty Leaders additionally welcomed the session on social media, however mentioned the federal government had been “sluggish” in responding to the web dangers posed to youngsters.

The union’s common secretary Pepe Di’Iasio mentioned there was “clearly a a lot wider drawback of kids and younger folks spending far an excessive amount of time on screens and being uncovered to inappropriate content material”.

And Paul Whiteman, common secretary of the Nationwide Affiliation of Head Lecturers, additionally welcomed the plans to seek the advice of on a possible social media ban.

However he mentioned the suggestion that Ofsted ought to “police” telephones in faculties was “deeply unhelpful and misguided”.

“Faculty leaders want assist from authorities, not the specter of heavy-handed inspection,” he added.

It comes as the federal government faces further stress from the Home of Lords, which is predicted to vote on a proposed ban on Wednesday.

The modification to the Kids’s Wellbeing and Faculties Invoice has backing from a number of outstanding figures comparable to former youngsters’s TV presenter Baroness Benjamin and former schooling minister Lord Nash.

There’s additionally a separate amendment calling for the introduction of film-style age scores which may restrict the social media apps youngsters can entry.

Final week, Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch mentioned she would introduce an under-16s ban if her occasion received the following election.

Professor Amy Orben, who leads the Digital Psychological Well being programme on the College of Cambridge’s MRC Cognition and Mind Sciences Unit, informed the BBC there was “broad settlement” extra wanted to be finished to maintain youngsters secure on-line.

Nevertheless, she mentioned there was nonetheless “not sturdy proof” that age-based social media bans have been efficient.

Dr Holly Bear from Oxford College agreed proof for the results of a social media ban have been “nonetheless unfolding”.

“A balanced strategy is likely to be attempting to scale back algorithm-driven publicity to dangerous content material, bettering safeguards, supporting digital literacy and thoroughly evaluating any main coverage interventions,” she mentioned.

The NSPCC, Childnet, and suicide prevention charity the Molly Rose Foundation have been amongst 42 people and our bodies to argue a ban can be the “incorrect answer” on Saturday.

“It will create a false sense of security that might see youngsters – but in addition the threats to them – migrate to different areas on-line,” the organisations wrote.

“Although well-intentioned, blanket bans on social media would fail to ship the advance in youngsters’s security and wellbeing that they so urgently want.”