Top UK minister responds to Australia social media ban – ‘we’re preserving a really shut eye’

The ban, which came into effect overnight on Wednesday, means that children under the age of 16 in Australia are no longer allowed to have social media accounts

The UK is “keeping a very close eye” on the roll-out of the social media ban for under-16s in Australia, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said.

The Cabinet minister said she did not think the ban would be a good idea – but left the door open to considering it in the UK if it proves to be a success in Australia.

The ban, which came into effect overnight, means that children under the age of 16 in Australia are no longer allowed to have social media accounts. Some campaigners said such a ban could lead to bad actors targeting children in other online spaces, such as gaming or messaging platforms.

Asked on Sky News whether the measure was being considered by the government, she said: “We’re obviously keeping a very close eye on the way that this is playing out in Australia because we know that young people are really struggling with the amount of time that they spend online and what is happening to them online.”

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Pressed on BBC Breakfast if the government would be tempted to consider something similar if the ban works in Australia, Ms Nandy replied: “Yes, we would certainly consider it. Not only if it worked but if young people as you rightly said believe that it was working and trusted that that was a solution.

“The young people growing up in England today are really concerned about what is happening online. We had young girls through the work we did telling us repeatedly that there were problems with them being targeted with unwanted, explicit images. We had a lot of young boys talking to us about their concerns about being targeted by influencers, who have negative attitudes towards women and girls.”

She added: “There is action we’ve taken to deal with that – passing new laws to make sure media companies have responsibilities to take down harmful content and not target that towards young people. If there’s more action we need, we will of course consider it.”

But in a separate interview when asked whether the measure would be a good idea, she went on: “We don’t think so. We asked young people what they thought about it, and the overwhelming response was concerns about enforceability.

“Are we seriously saying that we’re going to start prosecuting young people for going on social media? There’s also a real concern particularly amongst girls that if people can’t see the problem with behaviour online, they won’t be able to see the problem with behaviour in the real world.

“What they really wanted was more education, more advice, and particularly someone who cared about them, who they could talk to, an adult who they could trust… to be able to navigate some of this.”

Yesterday, The PM’s official spokesman said there were no plans for a social media ban. They said: “We understand parents’ concerns about the impact of social media on children, which is why we’ve taken some of the boldest steps globally to ensure that online content is genuinely age-appropriate.

“As you know, there are no current plans to implement a smartphone or social media ban for children. It’s important we protect children while letting them benefit safely from the digital world, without cutting them off from essential services or isolating them.”