The House | The social media ban for under-16s is a sticking plaster, not a solution to online harms

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This status quo isn’t acceptable, and my committee has repeatedly called for stronger action to protect UK users, particularly children. I was glad to see Keir Starmer’s government finally taking long overdue steps to tackle the risks children face online, after successive governments have failed to act.

However, a ban on under 16-year-olds using social media won’t be enough to protect them from the spiralling spread of misinformation and other harmful content on our screens.

Part of this has to do with the fact a ban would be difficult to enforce and easily circumnavigated. Evidence from a similar ban in Australia shows that young people can and do use workarounds such as VPNs. New platforms and services will likely emerge to fill gaps left by restrictions, while generative AI tools and messaging apps like WhatsApp fall outside the scope of the ban.

More fundamentally, this approach treats the symptoms rather than the cause. Restricting access for some users won’t fix a flawed and dangerous product – it’s not enough to simply block some people from using social media. Instead, wider steps are needed to make it safer for everyone. Unless the government tackles the drivers behind the viral online spread of harmful content, any ban will amount to little more than a sticking plaster.

At the heart of the problem is the algorithmic amplification of harmful content. Social media recommender algorithms promote highly engaging material, regardless of its accuracy or safety. The business models of social media companies incentivise and encourage as much engagement as possible, even when this is driven by misleading or dangerous content.

In 2025, my committee warned that the Online Safety Act wasn’t up to scratch because it didn’t protect users from this core issue around algorithmic amplification. We set out clear, practical recommendations to strengthen the online safety regime – most of which were rejected by the government. A year on, it’s clear that the situation isn’t improving. Recent violence and unrest, including events in Belfast, show the real-world consequences of unchecked false and harmful content online.

If the government is serious about protecting children from online harms, it must take decisive action now and revisit my committee’s recommendations.

At present, the government is operating without comprehensive and accurate information about how social media recommender algorithms work

Social media companies should be held accountable for the viral spread of harmful content on their platforms. There must be clear duties in place to ensure they deprioritise content which fact-checkers have found to be false. There should also be tougher regulation to combat the underlying business models that incentivise the viral spread of legal but harmful content.

At present, the government is operating without comprehensive and accurate information about how social media recommender algorithms work. A lack of transparency from companies has meant we don’t have the data we need to fully understand and address the problem. It’s essential that the government commissions independent research into this, without which it will be difficult to develop effective regulation.

Finally, regulating technology alone is not sufficient. Our online safety regime should be grounded in clear principles like freedom of expression and transparency, which will remain sound in the face of future technological developments.

Starmer’s government was right to act, but a ban alone won’t resolve the deeper issues at play. To truly make the online world safer for our children, and for society as a whole, we must confront the root causes of online harms – not just limit access to them. 

Chi Onwurah is Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central & West, and chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee