Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about raising the minimum age for access to social media to 16.
It has become clear, through a growing body of evidence, that social media is not a guaranteed safe space for children and young people. I have received many emails from constituents in support of increasing the minimum age to access these spaces. I am pleased to say that on Monday, 27 April, the Government finally committed to introducing social media restrictions for under-16s. The Bill received Royal Assent on 29 April and has therefore become law. I welcome the consistent efforts of my colleagues in the Opposition that have forced the Government to take this action.
Through social media, children and young people can be exposed to extreme violent content, sexual material and online strangers in ways that would never be accepted in the real world. British children spend almost three hours a day online, with 70 per cent of them seeing videos of real-life violence. Over the past decade, as smartphone and social media use have increased, there has been a sharp increase in anxiety, isolation, self-harm, and poor sleep among young people, which has knock-on effects for learning and behaviour.
It is for these reasons that the Leader of HM Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, and the Shadow Education Secretary, Laura Trott, have led the way in calling on the Government to help protect children from these harms by implementing a minimum age requirement for social media use.
While I am firmly of the belief that it is not the role of government to tell adults what to think, there can be a role for government to draw clear, enforceable lines to protect children. In the same way that age restrictions on films, alcohol, and cigarettes are designed to protect children and young people from their harmful effects, setting a minimum age of 16 for social media serves the same purpose. Such a change would reduce children’s exposure to the harms of social media by removing a critical mass of young people from these platforms.
In March, two-months after the Government announced it would launch a consultation on children's use of social media, the consultation (which closes on 26 May) was finally published. However, the consultation only asks whether to introduce an age restriction on social media, not how to implement it.
There is already a substantial body of evidence showing the harm that social media can cause to children, we do not need more dither and delay. Many young people continue to be exposed to highly addictive platforms that are carefully designed to maximise engagement, and the consequences are increasingly well understood. Continued delay only increases risks of harm to children and young people.
On 9 March, my party proposed two clear changes to the law: removing smartphones from schools and raising the minimum age for social media access to 16. Disappointingly, Labour MPs joined the Government in voting against both of these proposals. Rather than taking firm action, the Government introduced their own weaker alternatives that essentially delay any real progress, which I believe fails children, parents and teachers.
The Bill then entered the parliamentary "ping pong" stage, where amendments to the Bill are sent back and forth between the House of Lords and the House of Commons. On 25 March, the Lords voted overwhelmingly to put the two proposals back into the Bill.
When the Bill returned to the Commons on 15 April, I again voted for these protections, but Labour MPs once more blocked them.
However, the pressure from my colleagues in the Commons and the Lords is working. On 20 April, the Bill returned to the Lords where the Government began to give way and announced a new amendment to ban smartphones in English schools.
After months of pressure from the Shadow Education Secretary, the Government has finally U-turned. This is a pivotal moment for children across our country and a huge victory for campaigners such as yourself, teachers, health professionals, parents, and young people who spoke out and refused to be ignored.
My colleagues and I in Opposition said we would stand with parents, and this demonstrates how we can hold the Government to account and deliver real change. While this is a significant step forward, my colleagues will continue to press the Government to ensure these restrictions are robust, effective, and delivered without delay.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
