Under-16s will be banned from all the major social media apps, UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, announcesd on Monday.
It followed a similar move by Australia in December last year.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “This is not something I do lightly, and I will not present it as cost-free, as if social media has brought no benefits to young people, because clearly that is wrong.
“But government is always about choices, and it’s clear to me that a full ban is the right choice.”
As a parent of two, the PM said he knew “the fears that we all feel” about social media, and he has only ever wanted his children “to be happy and for them to be safe”.
He went on: “But I ask the question now: do we truly believe that social media creates a happy environment for our children? Do we truly believe that it’s a place where they can feel safe?
“I don’t think I even need to answer those questions, do I. Every parent can see it with their own eyes.
“Social media is making children unhappy. It’s making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health. Exposing them to content that is dangerous because that’s what grabs the attention. It’s designed to be addictive.”
Starmer said the apps stopped children doing homework, reading, seeing their friends, going to bed at the right time, and ultimately damaging their development.
“I feel for this generation. I think back to my own childhood. And yes, the early 1970s weren’t always a picnic, but we didn’t have to deal with anything like this – a technology that intrudes into every corner of a life,” he says.
Starmer said he believed that parents would back this action, and addsed: “I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must happen, and that is why this ban will happen.”
He concedes that it will not be easy to go up against the social media companies – it will be hard to legislate, and hard to enforce this ban – but vows to push forward.
The PM also said that products not covered by this blanket ban, like gaming platforms, would have to prevent children from being able to chat to strangers.
He conceded that some children would find a way around this ban, but he noted that they get around other laws as well, so it was not a reason not to do this.
The PM concluded: “It will make our children happier. And we’ll give them more time, more security, more freedom to grow up, more opportunity. And that, at the end of the day, is what this government is about.” – Sky News.
