The question of whether social media should be banned for children under 16 will be opened for public consultation today.
Over the next 12 weeks the government will ask parents, children and the general public if the UK should follow in the footsteps of Australia, which introduced a social media ban for children in December.
Those in favour of a ban say children need protection at all costs from harmful internet content, while those against suggest a ban might push children into situations where they experience harm and do not seek help.
A recent Mirror survey found 80 per cent of respondents were strongly in support of an Australian-style social media ban for children.
But Adele Zeynup Walton, an online safety campaigner and author whose sister Aimee died at 21 after accessing dangerous websites and forums which glorified and encouraged suicide, fears a ban on regulated platforms will push young users into dangerous, unregulated spaces online.
She told the Mirror: “I think a ban would be a whack-a-mole approach because initially mainstream platforms would be blocked and then kids are going to be driven to more sinister and scary unregulated spaces.
“I think we all recognize the scale of the problem, the scale of the risks, but a ban is a short-term solution to the immediate harms that are happening online and it risks putting a wedge even further between parents and young people.”
The consultation timing coincides with the launch of a film highlighting how harmful social media was implicated in the suicide of British teenager Molly Russell.
Molly Vs the Machines investigates how social media algorithms served Molly thousands of harmful images and messaging on Instagram and Pinterest, significantly contributing to the mental state which finally saw her take her own life at the age of 14. The documentary screens in cinemas and on Channel 4 this week.
Molly’s dad Ian Russell, founder of the charity the Molly Rose Foundation, said: “Children and families deserve a comprehensive strategy that will actually work, not the false sense of safety being offered by a flawed and ineffective Australia-style ban.
“The Government should have the courage to act on the evidence and stand up for children by delivering the tough and wide-reaching regulation that they promised in opposition but are yet to deliver.”
Alongside the proposed social media ban, the consultation will also investigate children’s use of AI chat bots, addictive design and digital curfews.
On Friday Ofcom announced it had given the website accessed by Aimee Walton before she died 10 days to respond to allegations of it contravening the Online Safety Act. Last week Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, said last week it would notify parents if teens repeatedly searched for content relating to suicide.
For more information, visit www.gov.uk/kidsonlinesafety
