Brianna Ghey’s mom Esther urges Starmer to ban social media for under-16s | EUROtoday

The mom of a murdered teenager has issued a heartfelt plea to the Prime Minister, urging him to assist a ban on social media for kids below the age of 16.

Esther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was tragically murdered by two different youngsters in 2023, believes such a prohibition can be “a vital step in protecting children online”.

In a poignant letter addressed to get together leaders Sir Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, and Sir Ed Davey, Ms Ghey revealed her daughter’s profound struggles.

She described Brianna as having a “social media addiction” and said she “desperately wanted to be TikTok famous”, which left her mom “in constant fear about who Brianna might be speaking to online”.

Ms Ghey additional highlighted the devastating affect, explaining: “She developed an eating disorder and was self-harming, and all of this was significantly exacerbated by the harmful content she was consuming online.”

This highly effective intervention coincides with an anticipated debate amongst friends later this week.

They are set to debate an modification to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which seeks to compel social media corporations to forestall under-16s from accessing their platforms.

The proposed modification has already garnered important backing, together with from the National Education Union (NEU) and 61 Labour MPs, who’ve collectively written to the Prime Minister demanding “urgent action”.

NEU normal secretary Daniel Kebede mentioned the modification was a “pivotal moment” and urged Sir Keir to indicate “leadership” and are available out in assist of a ban.

At a press convention on Monday morning, Sir Keir wouldn’t decide to supporting a ban, however mentioned the Government was “looking at a range of options” and “no options are off the table”.

He added that he had mentioned the coverage with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, whose authorities launched a ban final yr.

In her letter to get together leaders, Ms Ghey mentioned she spoke “alongside many other bereaved parents who have lost their children to harms that began or were amplified online”.

Urging them to assist the ban, she mentioned: “No parent should have to live with the consequences of a system that failed to protect their child.”

However on the weekend, 42 little one safety charities and on-line security teams issued a joint assertion warning a blanket social media ban wouldn’t ship the development in little one security and wellbeing wanted, and would deal with “the symptoms, not the problem”.

Instead, the Government ought to strengthen the Online Safety Act to require platforms to robustly implement risk-based age limits, the organisations mentioned.

Baroness Hilary Cass, a paediatrician who sits within the Lords, mentioned she understands the charities’ reasoning however feels it’s higher to “start on presumption of ban and only allow apps that have been developed safely and do not target children with harmful algorithms”.

She instructed the Press Association in any other case there can be a reliance “on the US big tech companies to comply with safety requirements and so far that has just not been adequate”.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have known as for film-style age rankings for social media, with some platforms legally restricted to customers over the age of 16.

Party chief Sir Ed mentioned the proposal was “a smart approach that allows young people to benefit from the best of social media…while properly tackling the real harms it can cause”.

Responding to the Liberal Democrats’ proposal within the Commons on Monday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson mentioned: “We’ll look carefully at any sensible proposals to make sure we can keep our children safe online.

“And I do recognise the wider issues around behaviour being a factor that affects teachers’ experiences, but also some of those wider pressures, including around safeguarding.”