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Thomas Mackintosh
Two bereaved mothers fear any delay to bringing in a social media ban for young people could mean “more and more children being harmed”.
It comes days after the Lords voted in favour of banning under-16s from using social media services such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook in a move similar to one imposed by Australia last year.
Esther Ghey and Ellen Roome told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that Ofcom, the regulator monitoring online safety laws, is not doing a good enough job to protect kids.
Ofcom, which brought in new rules last year to protect children from seeing harmful or inappropriate content online, said it is “under no illusion there is still much more to do”.
In a heavy defeat for the government on Wednesday, House of Lords peers supported the cross-party move by 261 votes to 150 – a majority of 111.
It means the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will have to be considered by MPs in the Commons.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has announced a three-month consultation to consider the advantages and disadvantages of a social media ban.
It will include exploring possible overnight curfews and actions to prevent “doom-scrolling”, and will report back to the government in the summer.
Ghey – whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna Ghey was murdered in a park in February 2023 by two children who planned their crime on social media apps – said more needed to be done.
“Whilst we’re waiting more and more children are being harmed”, Ghey said.
“I’ve spoken to you before about my story with Brianna and how much she suffered“.
Brianna spent many hours on social media and her mother previously said her daughter wanted to be famous on TikTok.
She believes this contributed to her isolation and problems with her mental health in the period running up to Brianna’s death.
“The last two years of her life were absolutely full of suffering and it is such a waste,” Ghey said.
“We know that every single day 500 children are being referred to mental health services and we know that 97% of 12-year-olds own smartphones so we need to do something now.”
Australia began forcing social media firms to block users aged under 16 from having accounts on their platforms in December.
It is a policy being closely watched by governments around the world – including in the UK.
Australia’s ban was justified by campaigners and the government as necessary to protect children from harmful online content and algorithms.
Companies including Meta have said they agree more is needed to keep young people safe online, but do not think a blanket ban is the answer, with some experts raising similar concerns.
Ellen Roome – another bereaved mother whose son Julian “Jools” Sweeney died taking part in a social media challenge – joined parents who have lost children in circumstances relating to online safety at a meeting with the technology secretary on Tuesday.
The 49-year-old from Gloucestershire told the BBC: “How much longer are we going to let children have unregulated access?
“I think how much longer are we going to let children have unregulated access, they have got access to everything and I just really think it needs to go, this whole thing of waiting and seeing and waiting,” Roome told the programme.
“I just fundamentally think if this was a product, it would be taken off the road, it would be fixed and handed back to them. Tell you what, take it away.”
Roome is part of a group of parents suing TikTok in the US state of Delaware.
Ofcom said since its new powers came into force last summer, it has “launched investigations into more than 90 platforms” and “issued several fines”.
“As a result of our action, age checks to protect children from pornography and other harmful material are now widespread, several high-risk sites are blocked, while child sexual abuse material is being tackled more effectively,” an Ofcom spokesman said.
“This is an industry that’s been unregulated and unaccountable for more than 20 years, and so while significant progress is being made, we’re under no illusion that there is much still to do.
“We will continue to work with urgency to drive change so that children in the UK enjoy a safer life online, and we remain grateful for the support and insights we receive from victims, survivors and bereaved families.”
