2026-05-27 16:00:16
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to take decisive action on the impact of social media on children in the UK.
As pressure mounts on the government to introduce tougher restrictions for under-16s following emotional meetings with bereaved families and campaigners at Downing Street, the Prime Minister met parents this week whose children died after experiences linked to online harm, bullying and social media use, as the government’s consultation into children’s online safety drew to a close.
Starmer said he believed action on social media needed to be a “game-changer” amid growing calls for Britain to follow Australia by banning under-16s from social media platforms.
The debate comes as concerns continue to mount globally around addictive algorithms, AI chatbots, autoplay features and online bullying affecting young users across apps including Instagram, TikTok, Discord and Roblox.
The issue has increasingly dominated political debate in Britain, with ministers facing pressure to strengthen protections introduced under the Online Safety Act.
Starmer said: “It is important that we act and will act.”
Outside 10 Downing Street following the meeting, campaigner Ellen Roome said she remained unconvinced stronger action would happen quickly enough.
Ellen, whose son Jools Sweeney died aged 14 in 2022, told the BBC: “Am I confident? Definitely not.”
She added: “I think we’ve heard it so many times before.”
Ellen also said until she saw meaningful changes introduced she would remain “sceptical”.
She was among parents urging ministers to raise the minimum age for accessing harmful social media platforms to 16.
Members of the campaign group described the Downing Street meeting as a “listening exercise” and said they had “put it all out on the table” in an attempt to force meaningful reform.
One parent said: “We do not want this group to grow any further.”
Another added they “wanted no more children to die as a result of online harm”.
The intervention came as former health secretary Wes Streeting joined calls for an outright ban on social media use for under-16s in the UK after recently leaving Starmer’s cabinet.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Streeting accused politicians and regulators of being “asleep at the wheel”.
He said: “The precautionary principle should apply here.”
Streeting compared the tactics used by major technology firms to those previously deployed by tobacco companies, arguing addictive platform designs posed significant risks to children.
He also said he felt “liberated” to speak more openly since resigning from government, but trusted Technology Secretary Liz Kendall to move quickly once the consultation process ended.
Kendall has said new measures affecting under-16s will be introduced before the end of 2026.
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