As it happened: MPs vote against social media ban for under-16s after Commons debate
A social media ban for under-16s has been rejected by MPs for the second time.
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The House of Commons voted 256 to 150, majority 106, to reject the amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill put forward by peers in the House of Lords.
Sir Keir Starmer is keen to move forward, with the bill currently stuck in a ping pong between the lower and upper houses - with the Lords now twice having sent it back to MPs.
Upon first inspection in January, peers approved an amendment by Conservative Lord John Nash to follow Australia's lead and ban social media use by the under-16s.
The government opposed the clause and sent it back to the Lords in March without it, only for peers to once more insert Lord Nash's amendment and return it to the Commons.
Ahead of the vote, the prime minister said: "You saw in the last government, we had an Online Safety Act, which is good, because it restricts what's available online.
"The trouble is, it took eight years from the original idea to get to an outcome; we can't have eight years when it comes to social media and whether we ban it or [put] massive restrictions in place.
"So, we've taken the powers to make sure we can act within months, not years.“
Labour has launched a consultation into such a ban, which runs until May 26.
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We are ending our live coverage of the social media ban vote
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Ex-Twitter and YouTube exec tells LBC that Starmer is 'kicking the can down the road'
A former executive at Twitter and YouTube has criticised the Government's slowness to deal with online harms.
Bruce Daisley, the former European Vice President of Twitter and former UK Managing Director of YouTube, spoke to LBC News's Jonathan Ray earlier.
He told Jonathan: "UK's approach seems to be to kick the can down the road to avoid making a decision and to release a press release saying that they're doing something about it."
Ahead of the meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and Big Tech tomorrow, Mr Daisley added: "The idea that somehow a stern word from Keir Starmer is going to have them falling in line, I think he's demonstrably optimistic."
Father of cyber-bullied teen who took her own life slams Government over failure to back ban
Speaking to LBC News's James Hanson, a father whose daughter took her own life after being cyber-bullied has slammed the Government over their failure to back a social media ban.
Mariano Janin, who lost his daughter Mia in 2021, told James: "It’s too late for a consultation. We already have, unfortunately the cost of this void of legislation.
It’s paid with young people's lives, like my daughter.
Mariano added: "With how many cases we have, we don’t need a consultation. What we need is a government assertive enough to take action instead to delay and say 'we need six months, we do a consultation and then 12 months'."
Our children's safety matters more than clicks, that's why if Big Tech won't do anything I will, writes Sir Keir Starmer
Writing for LBC Opinion, the Prime Minister has said that no one should get a "free pass" when it comes to protecting children.
Explaining his decision to haul Big Tech to Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer wrote: "I am bringing together some of the biggest social media companies to ensure they are stepping up to better protect Britain’s kids."
Read in full below.
Starmer to bring tech giants to No.10 as campaigners slam Government failure to back under-16 social media ban
The Prime Minister has announced that he is hauling senior Big Tech figures to Downing Street on Thursday after a ban on under-16s using social media was voted down by MPs.
Executives from TikTok, X, Meta and other social media giants will go to Downing Street as the Prime Minister tries to push them to go further on protecting children as the Government weighs new restrictions.
Read in full below.
Government must demand tech companies prove services are age-appropriate, says NSPCC
Rani Govender, Associate Head of Policy, Child Safety Online, at the NSPCC said: "It’s positive that parliamentarians are demanding children’s online safety be a priority for Government and Big Tech.
"Looking at the evidence and listening to children, parents and experts will help Government identify the most effective ways to improve children’s safety and wellbeing online
"That's why it's welcome that they are consulting on the options around children's access to the online world before they legislate.
"As part of this, they must demand that tech companies prove their services are age-appropriate before young people can use them, stop using addictive design features, and build safety into every device, platform and AI tool.
“Once the consultation ends, Government must move quickly.
"Without urgent action to hold Big Tech accountable, the changes children and parents are calling for won’t be delivered, and a social media ban for under‑16s would be better than no action at all."
What next?
As part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, ministers are set to gain a flexible power to curb children’s social media use with curfews, scrolling limits and restrictions on location sharing.
The Government could also choose to block under-16s from specified platforms.
A consultation, set to close next month, has been set up to help ministers decide what action they should take.
Education minister Olivia Bailey told the Commons: “Instead of the narrow amendment proposed in the House of Lords, our consultation allows us to address a much wider range of services and features.”
Social media ban rejected by MPs
A social media ban for under-16s has been rejected by MPs for the second time.
The House of Commons voted 256 to 150, majority 106, to reject the amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill put forward by peers in the House of Lords.
Closing remarks made as vote nears
MPs are making their final closing remarks as the vote on the ban nears.
The vote is due to take place at around 7.30pm.