Labour Urged to Back Social Media Ban for Under-16s Following Australia's Lead
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, has called on the Labour Party to support an urgent policy to raise the minimum age for social media access from 13 to 16. Kebede highlights Australia's implementation of a restriction on social media usage for under-16s as a model for the UK to follow and study regarding enforcement.
The proposal emerges amid concerns about the harms caused by exploitative business models of tech companies rather than poor parenting or teaching. These harms include increased anxiety, distraction, sleep disruption, bullying, and exposure to extreme content among young users.
Kebede dismisses the idea of prosecuting teenagers for social media use, clarifying that the intention is not to criminalise youths but to tackle the root source of harm—the platforms themselves. Approximately 75% of the UK public reportedly supports raising the minimum age to 16 to better protect children from exploitative online systems.
The call to action emphasizes learning from Australia's ban implementation and enforcement strategies to ensure better protection for children within digital spaces.
