I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement today and the urgency with which the Government is now confronting the growing impact of mobile phones and social media on young people.
I have been engaging widely on this issue, working with Labour MPs, meeting the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State, and speaking directly with campaign groups, parents, and, most importantly, young people themselves. I will continue to make this campaign my priority.
Teachers and parents across my constituency tell me the same story again and again. Children are anxious, sleep-deprived and under constant pressure. They scroll late into the night, their mental health is suffering, their self-esteem eroded by relentless online comparison. This is no longer anecdotal. The evidence is clear, and it is deeply concerning.
Social media companies assured us that their platforms would be a safe and benign space – a place for connection and creativity, with parents firmly in control. That promise has been broken. Instead, platforms have engineered addictive systems designed to keep children hooked, pushing content relentlessly and removing natural stopping points. Children are not choosing to scroll endlessly; the technology is designed to make them do it.
The scale of harmful content is alarming. Violent material and pornography are far too easy to access. A quarter of children have seen pornographic content by the age of 11. That statistic alone should shock MPs into action. Social media companies have failed to protect children, and the consequences are now painfully clear.
That is why I strongly welcome proposals to restrict addictive features, strengthen age checks, and consider a ban on social media for children below a certain age. We must also be honest and ask whether the current digital age of consent is fit for purpose in today’s online world.
I am particularly encouraged that Ministers will look closely at Australia to learn directly from their approach. Australia has taken decisive, targeted action – focusing on specific platforms and committing to ongoing review. We should learn from both the successes and the loopholes before acting here, but we must not lose momentum.
As a mother and grandmother, I share the fears of parents up and down the country. Many feel overwhelmed and outpaced by technology that is developing at a pace which regulation cannot keep up with. That is why the commitment to a national conversation with parents matters, as does clearer guidance for schools and robust enforcement by Ofsted. Ark Putney Academy and other schools in my constituency have shown that strong mobile phone bans work. Age-appropriate access to social media is important to limit the damage done outside school hours too.
This consultation is a crucial step forward. It is time to put children’s wellbeing ahead of engagement metrics and profit – and I will support every effort to ensure these measures deliver real, lasting protection for young people.