MPs\u2019 inboxes have been flooded with letters calling for an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, as the prime minister indicated such a move was being considered.<\/p>\n
More than 100,000 people have contacted their local MP since the grassroots organisation Smartphone Free Childhood launched an email campaign on Tuesday evening with a template calling for \u201creasonable, age-appropriate boundaries\u201d.<\/p>\n
When asked about the issue on Thursday, Keir Starmer<\/a> hinted a ban could be getting closer, telling reporters: \u201cWe need to better protect children from social media.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if he would support a ban in the UK, Starmer said the government was watching Australia with interest. \u201cAll options are on the table in relation to what further protections we can put in place \u2013 whether that\u2019s under-16s on social media or an issue I am very concerned about, under-fives and screen time,\u201d he said. \u201cChildren are turning up age four at reception having spent far too much time on screens.\u201d<\/p>\n The health secretary, Wes Streeting, who has asked the bestselling author and ban advocate Jonathan Haidt to speak to his officials<\/a>, told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme that social media could help with connections and a sense of belonging but also came with risks including the \u201charm of addling the developing mind of young people\u201d as well as exposure to \u201creally sinister, extreme stuff\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one would dispute when I was growing up that being able to use tools like hammers or a saw was a good skill set for us to learn as young people,\u201d Streeting said. \u201cWhat would never happen was a nursery or primary school child being given a box of nails and left unattended with it. That\u2019s kind of what we have done with mobile phones.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer has previously opposed banning social media for children, believing such a move would be difficult to police and could push teenagers towards the dark web. But on Monday<\/a> he told Labour MPs he would consider all options in curbing young people\u2019s access to social media.<\/p>\n Joe Ryrie, a co-founder and director of Smartphone Free Childhood, said every MP had been contacted about the issue, with some receiving more than 1,000 emails from constituents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has gone absolutely wild and it\u2019s still growing really quickly,\u201d Ryrie said. \u201cFamilies from every part of the country are just saying the same thing: that children need strong protections from these global platforms built to maximise attention and profit.\u201d<\/p>\n Pressure continues to mount on the government to ban social media for under-16s after a fortnight of controversy about Elon Musk\u2019s Grok AI tool being used to digitally remove the clothes<\/a> of women and children.<\/p>\n When Australia introduced a social media ban<\/a> for under-16s last month, more than 4.7m social media accounts believed to be held by young people were removed in the first days of the law coming into force.<\/p>\n In the UK the issue could come to a head next week when the House of Lords is due to vote on an amendment to the children\u2019s wellbeing and schools bill<\/a> that would prevent under-16s from accessing social media. If passed, the House of Commons would have to hold a binding vote on the issue in the next few months.<\/p>\n