Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of kicking his proposed social media ban “into the long grass” after launching a consultation into the matter.
Speaking to GB News, actress and online safety campaigner Sophie Winkleman hit out at the Prime Minister’s delay on the ban, branding social media a “disaster for children”.
Sir Keir Starmer has launched a consultation on enforcing an Australian-style social media ban for Britons under the age of 16.
The proposed ban will see young Britons’ access to platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok restricted.
Criticising the decision to hold a consultation, Ms Winkleman told GB News: “I was feeling a little bit more hopeful a couple of days ago when he said nothing’s off the table. I thought we were heading towards something quite significant.
“I’m a little bit disappointed this morning, because it looks like he’d be more in favour of a consultation, and I’m not really sure why we need a consultation when we’ve got all the country’s doctors, teachers, police, saying this is a national emergency in childhood and they’re all backing it. So I feel a bit despondent this morning.”
Stressing that there is “enough evidence” to demonstrate the negative impact of social media on children, she added: “I’m worried that he’s kicking it into the long grass, and I think we now do have causation, and we have enough evidence that this is a disaster for children.
“I’m baffled by the argument that children need to access things like Childline and the NSPCC when they can do that on the internet.
“We’re not saying don’t have the internet, we’re saying don’t have harming algorithms fed by social media. So I’m very confused by that argument and I’m feeling slightly worried this morning.”
Sophie Winkleman has accused Sir Keir Starmer of ‘kicking it into the long grass’ after launching a consultation on a possible social media ban
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GB NEWS / PA
Arguing that the Government has “made progress” on getting a ban in place, host Miriam Cates responded: “In my opinion, I agree that we’re not there yet, but I think if you look at how the conversation has moved on in just two years, then actually in terms of politics, I think we’ve made some huge progress.”
Criticising the social media platforms children currently have access to, Ms Winkleman said: “Platforms like TikTok which destroys the mind’s ability to focus quite aside from the harmful videos that children are seeing on that, same with Snapchat, and Instagram makes children feel awful about themselves – it’s a very, very unhealthy platform.
“I think the things that you join and you’re your own brand and people can access to you and you’re connected to hundreds of people who you don’t actually know, and the big tech companies feed you material that you might not even have asked for.”
She gave an example: “A young girl could look up a recipe for a smoothie, and then the big company will think, oh, maybe she’s worried about her weight and send her a ton of weight loss videos and exercise videos, and suddenly you’ve triggered an eating disorder.
Sir Keir has also vowed to turn schools into ‘phone-free’ areas
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PA“So if you have checks on a computer and safeguards on a computer and you Google something, I’m not mad about that either, but that’s much safer than a child being on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.”
Asked by Miriam what Britain can “learn from Australia” in terms of their own social media ban, Ms Winkleman told GB News: “I think you put it on to the big tech companies, because they are very well aware, they’re massive enough and powerful and rich enough to know pretty much exactly what age all of us are from whatever we look up.
“So they know if they’re looking at a 13-year-old or a 14-year-old simply by the data they’ve got on them. I’ve seen a lot of evidence from the teachers in Australia who say even in a week, the children are concentrating more, they’re sleeping better, they’re playing more with their classmates.
“So I’ve only seen positive stuff from Australia. Maybe that’s because that’s what I’m fed, but I think it’s going really well.”
Ms Winkleman told GB News that social media provides ‘unhealthy platforms’ for children
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GB NEWS
Asked if she believes the Government’s position will have “hardened” on the issue in a year’s time, Ms Winkleman concluded: “I really hope so.
“I want all the peers to back Lord Nash’s amendment tomorrow, and then it will go to the House of Commons, and hopefully Britain will be tough and muscular on this issue.”
The Prime Minister said of the ban on Monday: “We need to do more to protect children.
“That’s why we are looking at a range of options and saying no options are off the table.”