More than 60 Labour MPs urge PM to ban social media for under-16s

More than 60 Labour MPs have called on the prime minister to have a ban on under-16s access to social media pages. The 61 MPs wrote a letter to Sir Keir Starmer on Sunday that successive governments had done

too little to shield young people from being robbed. unregulated, addictive social media platforms

. They begged him to follow Australia's example, which resulted in a ban in December. Several other nations are thought to be considering similar legislation. Sir Keir hasn't ruled out a ban, adding that "all options are on the table. This week, the House of Lords is set to vote on a cross-party bill that will bring an Australia-style ban to the United Kingdom.

Baroness Benjamin, the Liberal Democrat peer and former children's television presenter; Conservative former education minister Lord Nash; Labour peer Barones Berger and Baroman Cass, an independent member of the House of Lords, supports the bill. Separately, the Liberal Democrats have proposed a bill that would include film-style age ratings, limiting certain social media platforms based on the type of content they were hosting. Many constituents had called Labour MPs to inquire about the effects of social media on young people, according to the Labour MP's letter, which includes the signatures of a number of committee chairs and former frontbenchers.

Across our constituencies, we hear the same message: children are excited, dissatisfie, and unwilling to concentrate on learning. They are not building the social skills they need to thrive, nor are they lacking the knowledge that will prepare them for adulthood.

The MPs said that

around the world, governments are recognising the severity of the crisis and taking action,

noting Australia's ban,

Denmark, France, Norway, New Zealand, and Greece are likely to follow suit. According to them, the UK

risks being left behind" on the subject. The letter, which was thought to be arranged by Plymouth Moor View MP Fred Thomas, was signed by education select committee chair Helen Hayes, former education minister Catherine McKinnell, former Labor minister Catherine McGinnell and former shadow cabinet minister Richard Burgon among others.

It's the most recent example of political pressure on the government to announce a social media ban. Last week, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she would introduce an under-16s ban if her party wins the next election. Pages with graphic violence or pornography will be restricted to users under the Liberal Democrats' platform, while others with inappropriate content will become adult-only. Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, referred to his proposal as

a ban but not a more sophisticated ban. It would be

the right way to make sure the benefits of the internet can be enjoyed by our children,

he said, but it would be completely shielded from the addictive content of some of these social media platforms. Sir Keir told a news conference,

I think we should do more to protect children, and that's why we're considering a number of options. No options are off the table, he said, and the government was investigating the situation in Australia, where under-16s were recently barred from social media. However, he said that the problem was larger than just social media, for example, the government was "particularly worried about screen time for children under the age of 5.

Several children's charities and online safety organisations have expressed their opposition to a blanket social media ban for under 16s. On Saturday, 42 individuals and organizations including the NSPCC, Childnet, and suicide prevention charity the Molly Rose Foundation all agreed that a ban would be the right option.It would give a false sense of security that would see children, but also the risks that could threaten them if they do,they wrote in a joint statement.Though well-intentioned, blanket bans on social media would not be able to provide the necessary improvements in children's safety and wellbeing that they so urgently need. The existing legislation should bestrongly enforced

to ensure that social media pages, personalized games, and AI chatbots were not avAIlable to children under the age of 13, they advised, while all social media platforms should have evidence-based restrictions for features that are considered inappropriate for children of various ages. Ian Russell, the father of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who died on the internet in 2017, said the government should enforce existing laws rather than

implementing sledgehammer techniques. A prohibition, according to the BBC's Newscast, the online safety campaigner who created the Molly Rose Foundation in his daughter's honour, could have unintended consequences and "cause more problems. If you have been affected by the topics discussed in this , please contact BBBC Action Line for assistance and assistance.