Tech companies have had “more than enough time to get their house in order”, the culture secretary has warned, as the prime minister prepares to announce measures on Monday that could include banning under-16-year-olds from some social media sites.
Lisa Nandy told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that if firms were not prepared to ensure their products were safe they “lose the right to market their products towards children”. Her comments came on the eve of an expected announcement by Sir Keir Starmer on restricting teenagers’ access to social media.
“Culture Secretary Nandy says tech firms had 'more than enough time' as PM prepares social media ban for under-16s.”
According to The Times, the proposals will include a ban on under-16s and a curfew for older teenagers. But the plans have already drawn criticism from Molly Russell’s father, Ian, who said he was “dismayed” by reports of the ban. Molly took her own life after viewing harmful content online. Russell suggested the policy had been “rushed” forward for “a political reason” by Starmer. “If he’s playing politics, what he’s doing is gambling with young people’s lives – and I find that deplorable,” he said.
Nandy declined to pre-empt Starmer’s announcement but insisted it was “how, not whether, we better protect children online”. She said the vast majority of responses to the government’s consultation had backed a social media ban for under-16s. While acknowledging that Australia’s ban had shown some young people would find ways to avoid restrictions, she argued it changed the presumption of using social media at a young age. “At the ages of 8, 9, 10 and 11, children aren’t presuming they are going to be in these spaces because all of their friends are,” she said. “It significantly changes the culture, which is why it is something we have seriously considered, and the prime minister will have more to say about that tomorrow.”
Nandy stressed the urgency of the situation. “We cannot stand aside and not act when we see that very clearly,” she said. Speaking earlier to Sky News, she added: “I don’t think banning social media on its own is the silver bullet solution, but I do think Australia has shown very clearly that it has a significant role to play.”
The Conservative shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, told the same programme there was a problem with making laws on tech because it moves so fast and legislation does not tend to keep up. However, he said his party believed a social media ban was “the right thing to do”.
The government launched a public consultation on introducing a ban in March, and the prime minister is expected to outline his next steps on Monday.