Social media ban breakthrough as Labour says it WILL usher in restrictions for youths
Education minister Olivia Bailey told the Commons the Government will bring in ‘some form of age or functionality restrictions’ after the House of Lords again voted for an outright ban
The Government has said it will go ahead with restrictions on social media for kids(Image: Western Mail)
The Government has vowed to bring in restrictions on social media for under-16s to break a deadlock over calls for an Australia-style ban.
Education Minister Olivia Bailey told MPs there will be “some form of age or functionality restrictions” introduced. The pledge on Monday evening came after the House of Lords yet again voted for all under-16s to be barred from sites like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.
It was the forth time they had done so, ramping up pressure on ministers. The Government has resisted demands for an all-out banning, saying it will first assess the outcome of a consultation which is currently running.
But Ms Bailey now said some form of restrictions will come in regardless. On Tuesday Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says changes must be able to “stand the test of time”.
Ms Phillipson said: “Like everybody, I’m concerned about what young people are exposed to online. I’m concerned about the amount of time that young people spend online.
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“I’m concerned about some of the addictive features and the way that it hooks young people and keeps them there. So we will act on that. Absolutely we will act on that.
“But if we’re to take action, and we will, then we need to get it right. I don’t want to be coming back here in year or two’s time saying `actually what we’ve put forward hasn’t been effective and we need to look again at this’.
“We need to design something that stands the test of time, that commands the confidence of parents and campaigners and genuinely works.”
It comes after Ms Bailey told the Commons: “The Government has said repeatedly that it is a question of how we act, not if, but to put beyond any doubt, we are placing a clear statutory requirement that the Secretary of State must rather than may, act following the consultation. This brings forward regulations without pre-empting the consultation’s outcomes, and does not ignore the tens of thousands of parents and children who have already engaged with us.
“Let us be clear, the status quo cannot continue. We are consulting on the mechanism, and that is the right thing to do. But we are clear that under any outcome, we will impose some form of age or functionality restrictions for children under 16.
“I can also confirm that consideration of restrictions such as curfews will be in addition, not instead of this.”
Tory peer Lord Nash, who has put forward amendments demanding a ban – as introduced in Australia – responded: “This commitment to raising the age limit to 16 for harmful social media features is a huge step forward for our children’s safety online.
“Parents, teachers, health professionals, senior police officers and many others told the Government to listen. They told the Government repeatedly, and in great numbers, that it had to act on social media’s unrestricted access to our young people, to prevent the catastrophic harms that it is inflicting on a generation.”
He went on: “We will now all turn our attention – together- to making sure this is implemented as soon as possible in the best way to protect our children.” Praising bereaved parents who had campaigned for change, he said: “They didn’t have to do this.
“They did it so that no other family would have to live through what they have lived through, and they have ensured that as a result every child in the country will be safer because of their work. I thank them for it.”
The Government had already begun a consultation on access to technology for under-16s, and had floated measures such as age restrictions on social media as well as other services such as gaming sites and AI chatbots.
The latest commitment was welcomed by Tory shadow education secretary Laura Trott, who said: “We now have a commitment on the floor of the House, from the Government, that they will impose an age restriction for children under 16, and this is in addition to, not instead of, any curfews.
“This is a huge step forward in keeping children safe and supporting parents in their fight against screens destroying children’s lives.”
A proposed ban has been supported by campaigners, including Esther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered by two teenagers in 2023. A fortnight ago Keir Starmer told tech bosses from X, Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google – which owns Youtube – that changes were urgently needed.
He said at the time: “Things can’t go on like this, they must change because right now social media is putting our children at risk. In a world in which children are protected, even if that means access is restricted, that is preferable to a world where harm is the price of participation.”
