Aylesbury MP backs 'brilliant' social media ban for under 16s after grooming incident
Aylesbury’s MP has backed the Government’s plans to introduce a social media ban for under 16s after hearing first-hand of the dangers children face online.
Yesterday, the Government announced plans to prevent children under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Aylesbury’s MP Laura Kyrke-Smith called the move “brilliant” and said children would be “safer and better set up for success in the future” without access to the websites.
In a social media post yesterday, the Labour MP revealed that one constituent contacted her about the troubles her son experienced using the internet unsupervised. Ms Kyrke-Smith said: “I want to say a particular thank you to one constituent. Her 12-year-old son had been groomed effectively by an AI chatbot.
"It’s because of her, and the work that I have done with her, that these AI companion bots are included in the changes that we have announced today.”
The Government says it plans to use the same model as Australia which introduced a social media for children up to 16, six months ago.
Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, are among the websites that will be closed off to under 16s, the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology revealed.
It was also confirmed that messaging apps such as Signal and WhatsApp will not be included. The Government says its ban will go further than other countries by preventing access to live-streaming and gaming sites.
Social giants such as Meta – which owns Facebook – and YouTube, have warned that the ban will push children to more dangerous platforms. A spokesperson for Meta said the “bans risk isolating teens from online communities and information, and driving them to unregulated alternatives that lack built-in protections and parental controls”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced the ban at Downing Street yesterday, said: “Social media is making children unhappy, it’s making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health.”
The Government also revealed it is looking at introducing social media curfew periods for children aged 16 and 17, as well as scrolling limits for those aged between 16-17.