Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “Children have told me time and again that they want to be protected online. My research showed that too many young people see pornography – and that the most common way to see it is accidentally on social media. Many children say they want to spend less time on their phones but struggle to put them down.
“Today’s announcement – banning certain social media platforms for under 16s and stopping children accessing harmful functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication – is a positive response to what children have been telling me. However, these measures will only be as strong as their enforcement – which I will be watching closely.
“We need to reset the debate – from banning children to banning the companies who fail to show that their services protect children’s safety and wellbeing. My position remains that any online service – not just social media, but gaming and other platforms – that uses harmful features should be banned from accessing under-18s unless and until it can prove it is safe.
“This is a decision that will define childhood – we must listen to young people and put their interests first. Children tell me that digital spaces are where they learn, connect and find community. But they want an end to the harms: addictive design that keeps them scrolling, the explicit content they wish they’d never seen, and the strangers who should never be able to contact them.”
