Keir Starmer is failing children with empty promises on social media reform, writes Laura Trott
In recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear that we can’t trust a word that Keir Starmer says.
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He is now trying to deceive parents into thinking he is taking action to get children off harmful social media, but the reality is all he is offering is years of delay.
Labour’s lack of action speaks louder than their hollow commitments. Without pressure from brave parents, teachers and health professionals calling on the Government to do more, we would not even have secured a consultation on a social media ban.
Sadly, this appears to be little more than a delay tactic. It will be half-baked measures like curfews or tweaks to algorithms. A smoke-and-mirrors exercise to stop Labour MPs backing a clear option that would get children off social media now.
Labour have repeatedly voted against our plan to ban social media for under-16s. Now their latest offering is woeful. Ministers say they will act in months, not years. The reality is very different.
Labour have put forward new proposals that would not require the Government to take any action for three years. That is simply not good enough and surely Labour will see more sense than to vote for this delay.
Three years means more children exposed to harm and another generation drawn deeper into the online world. It also conveniently takes us up to the next general election and reveals that this Government would rather pass the buck than act. Saying the Secretary of State only needs to ‘have regard’ to a consultation is simply not good enough.
There is strong support across the House for action to protect children from harmful social media. Peers have already backed Lord Nash’s amendment several times by a huge margin. The only person standing in the way of change now is the Prime Minister.
Parents will be forgiven for feeling confused by what is happening. I share their frustration. Parents are not only deeply let down, but they are also understandably baffled.
They have heard the Prime Minister promise action, but instead he has repeatedly instructed his party to vote against it. It makes no sense.
We have already forced a change of direction on banning phones in schools after months of Labour dismissing the idea as an unnecessary gimmick. I will dig my heels in again on this issue.
The consultation is not worth the paper it is written on. It even highlights supposed benefits of social media such as children making dance videos on TikTok. Ministers should take a serious look at what children are being exposed to on those platforms.
Social media companies should not have access to our children until they can prove their platforms are safe. Tech companies could act but have failed time and again.
Evidence from recent court cases in the United States showed that some of the biggest companies knew their platforms were addictive and chose not to act. Children deserve better.
These platforms are like a drug. If we are serious about protecting children from the extreme and violent material they encounter online every day, the Government should do what the Prime Minister himself says he wants to do and vote for change today.
How many times do parents, teachers, health professionals and children themselves need to speak out to be heard? Having regard to a consultation leaves the Government free to go in a completely different direction.
Ministers have certainly not listened to the parents who have spoken out again and again, or to the bereaved families I have met who are fighting not for their own children, because it is too late for them, but for everyone else’s. I will not give up this fight. Labour must do better.
Last week showed that politicians can come together in the interests of children. Parliament acted to support banning smartphones in schools.
We can do the same on social media. Labour MPs should not be asked to defend the indefensible again. They should vote for change today.
I will not stop pressing the Government until they set out a serious timeline for action and make clear what they stop children accessing harmful social media.
The clock is ticking, but it is not too late for Labour to change course.
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Laura Trott is the Shadow Secretary of State for Education of the United Kingdom
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