Social media ban for under-16s

It’s becoming more and more clear that social media for under-16s in the UK needs a serious rethink.

Grok AI was recently used in a frankly horrifying and deeply disturbing way to digitally remove a child’s clothing. That should stop us all in our tracks. It is a clear and unacceptable failure, and it shows just how unsafe and poorly regulated parts of the online world still are for young people.

Right now, social media simply isn’t regulated well enough to keep children safe. Until it is, I believe access for under-16s should be banned or far more tightly controlled.

This isn’t about a “nanny state”. It’s about protecting our children.

Young people are routinely exposed to things no child should ever see — not by accident, but certainly not by algorithms designed to maximise attention, not wellbeing. That includes:

• bullying and harassment

• pornography and other illicit content

• extreme violence and harmful material

Social media companies have had years to put this right. But they haven’t. Self-regulation has failed, and young people are paying the price.

Yes, parents are ultimately responsible for their children — but even adults struggle to understand or resist algorithm-driven platforms backed by billions of pounds and powerful AI systems. Expecting parents alone to counter that simply isn’t realistic.

While I am talking about a ban here, I am open to compromise. There are sensible options short of an outright ban. For example:

• removing algorithmic feeds for under-16s

• only showing content young people actively choose to follow

• properly enforced age verification

Australia has already put a ban on social media for under-16s. It’s early days, but the initial signs around children’s wellbeing are positive and it proves governments can act when they choose to.

Just to be clear: I’m not against mobile phones in schools, I think this is a whole different debate. But briefly, phones are part-and-parcel of modern life, and schools should decide how they manage them. This post is specifically about social media platforms, not technology itself.

We do already have the new Online Safety Act, and it’s very welcome, but technology moves so fast that parts of it already feel out of date. So action is needed now, not years down the line.

That’s why I’ve joined around 60 MPs in writing to the Prime Minister, urging the Government to take urgent action to better protect children online and ban social media for under-16s.

Signatories:

Fred Thomas MP

Helen Hayes MP

Catherine McKinnell

Tonia Antoniazzi MP

Yuan Yang MP

Bayo Alaba MP

Alex Ballinger MP

Dan Cardenen MP

Graham Stringer MP

Sharon Hodgson MP

Dr Scott Arthur MP

Calvin Bailey MBE MP

David Baines MP

Lorraine Beavers MP

Matt Bishop MP

Jonathan Brash MP for Hartlepool

Dr Julia Buckley MP

Richard Baker for Glenrothes and Mid Fife

Irene Campbell MP

Bambos Charalambous MP

Ben Coleman for Chelsea & Fulham

Jonathan Davies MP for Mid Derbyshire

Cat Eccles MP

Josh Fenton-Glynn

Patricia Ferguson MP

Paul Foster MP

Daniel Francis MP for Bexleyheath & Crayford

Sadik Al-Hassan MP

Chris Hinchliff MP

Sean Woodcock MP

Mohammad Yasin MP for Bedford and Kempston

Florence Eshalomi MP

Derek Twigg MP

Michael Wheeler MP

Vicky Foxcroft MP

Cat Smith MP

Natasha Irons MP for Croydon East

Jonathan Hinder MP

Ian Byrne MP

Henry Tufnell MP

Paula Barker MP

Patrick Hurley MP for Southport

Ruth Jones MP

Sojan Joseph MP

Noah Law MP

Dr Simon Opher MBE MP

Dr Darren Paffey MP

Jo Platt MP

Andrew Ranger - MP for Wrexham

Joani Reid MP

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP

Tim Roca MP

Dr Sam Rushworth MP

Sarah Russell MP

David Smith MP

Euan Stainbank MP

Will Stone MP

Kirsteen Sullivan for Bathgate and Linlithgow

John Whitby for Derbyshire Dales

Steve Witherden for Montgomeryshire & Glyndŵr

Connor Naismith MP