Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter Molly took her own life in 2017 due to social media harms, told Keir Starmer the ‘cost is too high to get this wrong’
The dad of Molly Russell has warned Keir Starmer not to rush into a social media ban amid new polling that shows a majority of children in Australia are still accessing sites despite restrictions.
Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter took her own life in 2017 due to social media harms, told the PM the “cost is too high to get this wrong” as he urged him to ensure any action to improve online safety in the UK is evidence-led.
Australia banned access to social media for under 16s in December, yet new polling shows three in five (61%) Australian 12 to 15 year-olds still have access to one or more accounts on restricted platforms.
The survey showed major social media firms have retained a majority of their child users, with 53% of previous TikTok users, 53% of YouTube users and 52% of Instagram users still able to access an account on these sites.
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The first major polling of 1,050 children aged 12-15 was conducted by Molly Rose Foundation and YouthInsight, Australia’s largest online youth panel.
MRF, set up in the name of Molly, warned the findings raise “major question marks” about the effectiveness of Australia’s social media ban. It said a ban risks offering parents a “false sense of safety” and is instead calling on the PM to commit to a new Online Safety Act in the King’s Speech.
Mr Russell said: “Keir Starmer has the chance to make the UK a world leader in online safety by following the evidence with robust new laws that give parents what they are rightly demanding.
“The cost is too high to get this wrong by rushing into an Australia-style ban that offers the perception of security but is letting children down in practice.”
Andy Burrows, Chief Executive of Molly Rose Foundation, said: “These results raise major questions about the effectiveness of Australia’s social media ban and show it would be a high stakes gamble for the UK to follow suit now.
“Parents and children deserve better than a flawed ban that delivers a false sense of safety that quickly unravels. Proponents of a ban argue that it offers an immediate and decisive firebreak, but the early evidence from Australia shows it only lets tech firms off the hook and fails to give children the step change in online safety and wellbeing they need.”
The UK Government is currently consulting on children’s social media safety with a wide range of options available to them, including cracking down on addictive and dangerous design features or imposing overnight curfews. An outright social media ban for under 16s will also be considered as part of the three-month consultation.
A DSIT spokesman said: “This research underlines the importance of getting the next steps right. Our consultation on children’s wellbeing online looks at a breadth of options – from digital curfews and time limits on apps, to a social media ban. It is focused on ensuring that any action we take is technically sound, enforceable, and places real responsibility on the platforms themselves, to give children and parents the genuine protection they deserve.”


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