Contributions
948 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sI am really glad that my hon. Friend has raised this issue. There was an important point in the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ response precisely about the physical health…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sThe hon. Member is absolutely right. In England, we are looking deeply at the curriculum. Under the new relationships, sex and health education guidance, children will be taught…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sThat is one of the issues that I thought extremely carefully about—it is one of the things that made me unsure as we were going through this. Young people are still able to go…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sIt is not an either/or—either enforce the Online Safety Act or introduce a ban. There are clear requirements on tech companies to remove illegal content for everybody and harmful…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sAbsolutely. This is about the social media companies putting their house in order. Lots of people have said, “Won’t you bow to pressure? You’ll cave under it.” I hope that today,…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sWe have a brilliant, fantastic, world-leading gaming industry in this country. That is why we are not including games under the blanket ban. However, I have been really concerned…15 Jun 2026HANSARD“Growing up in the Online World” ConsultationI will be updating the House via an oral statement later today. [HCWS112]15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sThis is a wake-up call for the companies: “You had your chance. You didn’t fulfil your existing obligations under the law. Enough.” That is really important for us to say. They…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sI understand that this announcement will be extremely difficult for many children who are on social media today—I know that it will cause a lot of worry and disquiet. I want to…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sWe will come back to VPNs in July; I have commissioned further research about their usage. There are really important issues to balance here. Many people want to use VPNs for…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sIt is really important that two things happen. First, there needs to be more support for parents and schools to do what many are already doing: preparing children for a life…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sWe want to provide the very best advice and support, based on the evidence, to parents, and also through schools.15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sYes, absolutely. The Department has already published new help and guidance for parents on how to talk to children about their life online. That will need to be done differently…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sThat has been a really important question; researchers have raised being able to assess the impact and know what the social media companies know themselves, so that they can…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sFirst, young people can still go online. I think that this announcement will actually support news organisations—the BBC, Sky and all sorts of others—to do even more to provide…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sThe Online Safety Act 2023 requirements remain. This is not an either/or; the companies have to make sure that they remove illegal content for everybody and remove harmful content…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have made great strides, with the £500 million in our Youth Matters national youth strategy, on rejuvenating our youth services and giving…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sAs I said earlier, we have the ability under the Children Act to restrict certain features and functions. That is why we are able to say that we will ban live streaming and…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sWe have asked for the rapid review of highly effective age-assurance measures, so that they come in well before the regulations are laid and voted on in the House, and Members can…15 Jun 2026HANSARDSocial Media Ban for Under-16sWe had a specific survey and consultation with children, 14,000 of whom replied, and I personally met young people in many constituencies. I understand why people say that…15 Jun 2026