The mother of murdered Brianna Ghey today piled pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to back a ban on under-16s using social media.
Esther Ghey, whose daughter was killed at the age of 16 by two 15-year-olds, urged the Prime Minister to support the introduction of new restrictions.
She and other bereaved parents wrote to Sir Keir, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat chief Sir Ed Davey ahead of a possible House of Lords vote this week.
Peers are due to vote on an amendment to Labour‘s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which would require social media firms to prevent under-16s becoming users.
Ms Ghey and the other signatories of the letter called on Sir Keir, Mrs Badenoch and Sir Ed to encourage their party’s peers to support the amendment.
They said it would be a ‘vital step in better protecting children online’, adding that ‘no parent should have to live with the consequences of a system that failed to protect their child’.
It came after the PM earlier on Monday admitted he needs to ‘do more’ to safeguard young people online.
Sir Keir said ‘no options are off the table’ after dozens of Labour MPs wrote a separate letter calling for the UK to emulate Australia’s ban on under-16s using social media sites and apps.
The mother of murdered Brianna Ghey (pictured) today piled pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to back a ban on under-16s using social media
Esther Ghey, whose daughter was killed at the age of 16 by two 15-year-olds, urged the Prime Minister to support the introduction of new restrictions
In her own letter, Ms Ghey set out how Brianna had a ‘social media addiction and struggled with her mental health from the age of 14’.
She wrote: ‘I speak not only as Brianna’s mother, but alongside many other bereaved parents who have lost their children to harms that began or were amplified online.
‘Some have lost children after they were groomed by online predators, others through dangerous online challenges, and others following prolonged exposure to self-harm and suicide content.
‘Again and again, parents describe the same pattern: children being drawn into online spaces that normalised exploitation, risk, and self-destructive behaviour, often hidden from the adults who were desperately trying to protect them.
‘Some argue that vulnerable children need access to social media to find their community.
‘As the parent of an extremely vulnerable and trans child, I strongly disagree. In Brianna’s case, social media limited her ability to engage in real-world social interactions. She had real friends, but she chose to live online instead.’
Ms Ghey said that social media was leading to a ‘profound loss of childhood’ with an ‘entire generation’ having their ‘time, attention, and potential consumed by platforms designed to keep them hooked’.
She added that backing the Lords’ amendment would send ‘an important and unambiguous message that social media is not appropriate for children under the age of 16’.
Ms Ghey said her daughter ‘desperately wanted to be TikTok famous’, putting her ‘in constant fear about who Brianna might be speaking to online’.
She added: ‘She developed an eating disorder and was self-harming, and all of this was significantly exacerbated by the harmful content she was consuming online.’
The letter was also signed by Ellen Roome, the mother of Jools Sweeney, Mariano Janin, the father of Mia Janin, Penny and Ian Banyard, the parents of Lacey, Liam Walsh, the father of Maia Walsh, Hollie Dance, the mother of Archie Battersbee, Amanda and Stuart Stevens, the parents of Olly Stevens, Lorin LaFave Gordon, the mother of Breck, and Lisa Kenevan, the other of Isaac Kenevan.
Sir Keir told the Observer just last month that he was not personally in favour of a social media ban for under-16s.
The PM argued it was ‘more about how you control the content that children can see rather than simply saying a blanket ban’.
But Health Secretary Wes Streeting has made little secret about his own support for the move, insisting he is ‘in favour of action’ on the issue.
A total of 61 Labour MPs, led by Fred Thomas, have signed a letter highlighting the ‘clear’ harm caused by ‘harmful, addictive’ content on the platforms.
The MPs, including veterans such as Graham Stringer and Richard Burgon, said Denmark, France, Norway, New Zealand and Greece look likely to copy the Australian policy and ‘Britain risks being left behind’.
Sir Keir Starmer earlier on Monday admitted he needs to ‘do more’ to safeguard young people online
Asked about the possibility of a ban at a Downing Street press conference on Monday morning, Sir Keir said: ‘On the question of social media more broadly, I think we need to do more to protect children.
‘And that’s why we’re looking at a range of options and saying that no options are off the table.
‘We’re obviously looking at what’s happened in Australia, something I’ve discussed with the Australian prime minister.
‘I don’t think it’s just a question of social media and children under 16.
‘I think we’ve got to look at a range of measures. I’m particularly concerned about screen time for under-fives, which is not so much about social media, but about literally screen time and the impact it’s having on children when they arrive at school.
‘So I do think we need to look across the range. But, in direct answer to your question, do we need to do more to protect children when it comes to social media and screen time and associated harms? Then yes, we do.’
Banning under-16s from social media is backed by Mrs Badenoch.
The Lords is likely to vote on a ban this week as part of an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, tabled by former Tory education minister Lord Nash.
Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly died aged just 14, spoke out alongside 40 charities, campaigners and doctors, against a ban.
They warned restrictions could drive vulnerable youngsters towards unregulated internet spaces like gaming platforms – or darker sites such as suicide forums.
Mr Russell, whose daughter died in 2017, warned against an ‘ambition-led, politically-led, panic-led’ drive towards ‘hasty, non-evidence based decisions’.
He called for better enforcement of existing laws rather ‘sledgehammer techniques like bans’.
Banning under-16s from social media is backed by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch
Publishing a copy of the Labour MPs’ letter on X on Sunday, Mr Thomas – the MP for Plymouth Moor View – said: ‘We all know the harm social media causes to young people’s mental health.
‘The Labour Government has acted in recent months. Today, 61 Labour MPs have written to the PM urging him to go further. We back an Australia-style model with the onus on tech firms to block under 16s access.’
The MPs point to research showing over 500 children a day are now being referred for anxiety treatment in England alone, with going from zero to just five hours’ daily access to social media doubling boys’ rates of depression and trebling those of girls.
They added: ‘The average 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week on a smartphone, much of it on social media platforms rife with harmful content’.
