MPs have voted down a proposal to ban under-16s from using social media, after toying with the idea of following Australia’s nationwide law.
The amendment, tabled by Conservatives to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, was defeated in the House of Commons on Monday evening, by 307 votes to 173.
The measure had already been approved in the House of Lords and would have introduced a default ban preventing children under 16 from having social media accounts.
Instead, MPs backed the government’s position of consulting on potential restrictions before deciding whether to legislate.
AI minister Kanishka Narayan told City AM the decision to consult first was to make sure any intervention was effective, rather than rushed.
“We’re running a very short, sharp consultation over three months to engage the entire country, including young people,” he said. “The intent there is to act robustly, but to act robustly in a way that actually sticks over time.”
Opposition figures and campaigners have criticised the move as a delay in tackling what they say is a growing online safety problem affecting young people.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott told the Commons the issue had become an “emergency”, citing polling suggesting that around 40 per cent of children are shown explicit content on smartphones during the school day.
“No more guidance, no more consultations. Legislate, do something about it”, she said during the debate.
More than 100 Labour MPs abstained, including Sadik Al-Hassan, who warned parents were “locked in a daily battle that they simply cannot win alone” against platforms designed to keep children hooked.
Shaping future rules
Ministers have argued that an outright ban could create new risks for young people online.
Olivia Bailey said some children’s charities had warned that a blanket restriction might push teenagers towards less regulated corners of the internet or leave them unprepared for navigating online spaces later in life.
“That is why the government launched a consultation to seek views to help shape our next steps”, she told MPs.
The consultation, announced by tech secretary Liz Kendall, will examine options including introducing a minimum age requirement for social media platforms and restricting addictive features like endless scrolling.
Narayan said AI could play a larger role in enforcing online protections, particularly through improved age verification and identifying harmful content.
“AI has a huge amount to offer”, he told City AM, pointing to systems that can detect child abuse material earlier and tools capable of estimating users’ ages online to help platforms create age-appropriate experiences.
Momentum for tighter rules has grown internationally after Australia became the first country to introduce a nationwide ban on social media accounts for under-16s in December. Similar measures are now being debated across parts of Europe.
Keir Starmer has previously said “no platform gets a free pass” on child safety, though critics have accused the government of delaying firm action.
The Liberal Democrats said after the vote that consulting rather than legislating immediately was “not good enough”, and that families need clearer assurances about how children will be protected online.
