The father of Molly Russell has warned that the government is “rushing” an under-16 social media ban – and accused Keir Starmer of “gambling with young people’s lives”.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce on Monday morning that the UK will follow Australia’s lead and prevent young people from accessing certain social media sites. The announcement comes less than three weeks after the end of a consultation that drew more than 110,000 responses, including tens of thousands from parents.
“Ian Russell says Keir Starmer is 'gambling with young people's lives' over planned under-16 social media ban.”
Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter Molly took her own life after seeing harmful content online, said he was “quite frankly dismayed” by reports the government was preparing an announcement. He told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “In opposition, Keir Starmer promised to tighten up the online safety world by regulating better. Early last year, father-to-father, I met with him briefly and he was very concerned, and he promised me he would look into effective solutions to deal with this problem. He seemed concerned. But as we sit here on the verge of this announcement, it seems that he’s not kept either of those promises.”
Mr Russell added: “If he’s playing politics, what he’s doing is gambling with young people’s lives. And I find that deplorable.”
The Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, said she would “respectfully disagree with some of what he said”, adding there is “no one solution to this and there has to be a basket of measures”. She told the BBC: “There is an urgency to this because young people need help now and we cannot stand aside and not act when we see that very clearly. The tech companies have had more than enough time to get their own house in order, and to be able to create products that keep children safe online. If they’re not prepared to do it, they lose the right, frankly, to market their products towards children and I don’t think the government should be neutral about that.”
A new poll for the Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank has found the public is largely split on whether children’s social media use should be tackled with a ban or through tighter regulation. The survey showed 44% of the public wanted to see a ban, while 39% said they would prefer regulation. However, 54% of parents with a child under 16 said they would back a ban compared to 36% who were in favour of tighter regulation.
Mr Russell pointed towards research conducted by the Molly Rose Foundation, which suggests that only slightly fewer children were seeing harmful content online after the introduction of the Online Safety Act. The Mirror, in a comment piece, said the tech giants “chose profit over protection”.
Ian Russell’s warning leaves the prime minister facing an uncomfortable question: has he done enough to keep his promise to a grieving father?