Echo Comment on social media ban for under-16s

A ban takes the onus off the social media companies to clean-up their sites. If these sites are too dangerous for 15-year-olds to use them, what harm will they do to 16-year-olds when they are suddenly exposed to them for the first time with all the harmful content and algorithms unchecked. What is this content and continual doomscrolling doing to the rest of us – surely it would be better if the vastly profitable companies were forced to be more responsible for the sake of us all.

It is also unlikely that a ban will be watertight. Clever children will find a way round it; dark communication sites will appear long before parents know what is going on. Again, it feels that a better way would be for the existing sites to be made safe for use.

And an outright ban means our young people will not be able to benefit from the positive side of social media: its educational, organisational and social functions which so many adults find useful in this digital world.

The Government wants to act fast and look tough, and says its ban could be in place within six or so months.

We all want to see social media cleaned of its sexual and graphic content, of its lies and deliberate misinformation, and of its addictive algorithms, and the Government is right so the Parliamentary debate will need convince that this simple solution is the best way to tackle a complex problem.