Press Release – 61 Labour MPs sign letter calling for under 16s social media restrictions
- 19/01/2026
- Posted by: Sojan Joseph MP
- Category: Press Releases
It is understood that many Government Ministers have also privately signalled their support for taking action, as well as Health Secretary Wes Streeting publicly doing so last week.
“I understand what a huge issue this is for so many of my constituents – I have had over 200 constituents contact me in the last week to ask for restrictions to be implemented, many of whom have never been in contact with me over an issue before.“As a former mental health nurse, I know that this is the correct thing to do. So many young people are growing up with depression and anxiety worsened by social media, and it is our duty as legislators to protect them from harm.”
“Across our constituencies, we hear the same message: children are anxious, unhappy, and unable to focus on learning. They are not building the social skills needed to thrive, nor having the experiences that will prepare them for adulthood.”
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Notes
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing to request urgent action to raise the minimum age for access to social media platforms to 16 years old.
Across our constituencies, we hear the same message: children are anxious, unhappy, and unable to focus on learning. They are not building the social skills
needed to thrive, nor having the experiences that will prepare them for adulthood.
At home, the average 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week on a smartphone,
much of it on social media platforms rife with harmful content, designed to be
addictive.
The consequences of this are clear. More than 500 children a day are being referred
for anxiety alone in England. For teenage boys, going from zero to five hours of daily
social media use is associated with a doubling of depression rates. For girls, rates
triple.
Around the world, Governments are recognising the severity of this crisis and taking
action. Australia has banned tech companies from providing social media accounts
to under 16s. Denmark, France, Norway, New Zealand and Greece are expected to
follow suit. Britain risks being left behind.
We believe the onus must be placed on technology platforms, not parents, to
prevent underage access. We would support a model similar to Australia’s that
requires companies to take meaningful steps to enforce age limits.
Public support for this approach is strong. Many of our constituents have recently
got in touch sharing their concerns about the impact of social media on children and
asking us to support a social media minimum age of 16. Most strikingly, young
people themselves recognise the harm: 78% of Gen Z say they would try to delay
their child using social media as long as possible.
We are all strong supporters of technology, and of this Labour Government’s
ambition to use tech to improve lives. But successive Governments have done far
too little to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive
social media platforms.
We urge the Government to show leadership on this issue by introducing a
minimum age for social media access of 16 years old.
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