Crewe & Nantwich MP Connor Naismith says he backs a new social media ban for U16s which he says will “protect childhoods”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer made the seismic announcement yesterday with the ban set to come into force next spring.
Many critics fear the ban is unenforcable and teenagers will find ways around the ban.
The ban includes Chatbot services which primarily offer sexualised and age-inappropriate content not being allowed to offer their services to under 18s.
Labour says the plans aim to set a “new normal” for future generations, kickstarting a cultural shift.
The ban will include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.
It does not include messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal.
Mr Naismith has held two Online Safety Forums in Crewe and Nantwich to understand the threats young people face on social media.
A Government survey of more than 116,000 parents, children and experts across the country showed overwhelming backing for tougher action. Nine in 10 parents said they would support a social media ban for children under 16.
Mr Naismith said: “The announcement is about protecting childhoods.
“The internet can open doors to a wealth of knowledge and information, but vulnerable children must be able to navigate it safely.
“As parents, we can’t have oversight of every online space our child has access to.
“These new restrictions make it absolutely clear that responsibility lies with social media companies to limit children’s use to safe platforms.
“The government has rightly focused on apps with that pose the biggest risk: those with infinite scrolling, algorithms which push harmful content, communications with strangers, livestreaming and the posting of public material.
“My office ran an Online Safety Forum in Crewe & Nantwich earlier this year where over 500 students participated in a survey designed by their peers. The results were staggering and – for me – confirmed the need for this ban.
“57% of respondents said they’d been approached by strangers online. 40% said they’d seen inappropriate content without searching for it. 37% said they or someone they know had been bullied, threatened or blackmailed online.
“In my discussions with young people about these findings, it was distressing to hear they were surprised the numbers weren’t even higher.
“The proliferation of these online harms cannot be overstated. Children are particularly vulnerable to malicious content, or accounts, which find their way to young people without them even searching for it.
“Tech companies have been reluctant to intervene, but these regulations mean that inaction is no longer an option.
“Throughout this debate I have been led by my experiences as a father and guided by conversations with students, parents and teachers in the constituency.
“As a parent, you’re constantly balancing trade-offs between freedoms and protections.
“Social media access so far has been firmly biased against the latter. This new ban will allow children to grow up in the real world and give them a healthy life online.”
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