'We'll take you on': Starmer warns Big Tech 'things will change' as ministers consider under 16s social media ban
Sir Keir Starmer told LBC that social media companies "won't get a free pass" after an “incredibly moving” meeting with grieving families calling for a ban.
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “take further measures” to “protect children and young people” as calls grow for the Government to ban social media ban for under 16s.
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Speaking to LBC on Friday, the PM said he had an “incredibly moving” meeting with grieving families calling for a ban.
Sir Keir said “nobody is getting a free pass” as he pledged to take on big tech firms - as ministers consider restricting the platforms to over 16s after more than 80,000 people responded to a consultation.
“I have talked to tech companies and to families. I have to say, meeting the families of those that have lost children was incredibly moving,” Sir Keir told LBC’s Political Editor Natasha Clark.
The Financial Times reports that the ban is set to go ahead with Sir Keir believed to have made his mind up after a poll result showed 90% parents are in favour, but Number 10 told LBC on Friday it wouldn't comment on speculation.
He added: “The message to the tech companies was very simple, which is, nobody's getting a free pass here. Things are going to change. I was very clear with them. That's why I wanted to see them. I'm absolutely clear.”
Sir Keir said the Government needs to “take further measures to protect children and young people and we will” following the consultation, which has now finished.
“We're just going through the responses but watch this space. We are going to act. And my message again to the tech companies is that we'll take you on,” the PM vowed.
Read more: A social media ban is the only way to protect boys from the Manosphere, writes Sadiq Khan
Read more: Nine in 10 parents back social media ban for children, says Technology Secretary
In a warning to big tech, he added: “Nobody's getting a free pass here. I'm afraid we're not going to stick with what we've got here.
”Ministers are mulling over a plan to impose an Australian-style ban that forbids children under 16 from having social media accounts entirely,
Other proposals from the consultation are app curfews and limits on more addictive features.
Previously speaking to LBC, bereaved mother Ellen Roome called on legislators to press ahead with a ban without delay as “millions and millions” of children remain exposed to harmful content online.
Ms Roome's world was turned upside down when she found her 14-year-old boy lifeless in his bedroom in their Cheltenham home on April 13, 2022.
The online safety campaigner suspects her son Jools Sweeney died while doing an online challenge.
She said “dangerous” and addictive features remain in place, which at the extreme end can “lead to the loss of a child”.
“We need them to actually look at what they are going to do and remove some of the harmful features and really tighten up on these platforms. We've still got children being affected and we've still got children dying.”
The grieving mother is among the 27 bereaved families in the UK who say social media is to blame for their children' s deaths.
Some 42,410 parents responded to the Government’s consultation, suggesting tens of thousands have backed a ban.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said that parents overwhelmingly support the ban and have called for Australian-style restrictions for children.
The minister revealed that nine in 10 parents supported a ban on children under 16 having social media accounts.
Writing for LBC Opinion, London Mayor Sadiq Khan argued the ban is the only way to protect young boys from the manosphere.
He wrote: "Ofcom must show companies that the era of impunity is over by taking a much tougher approach to enforcing the online safety laws we already have.
"Where those laws are already falling short, we mustn't be afraid to change them. That includes banning social media for under-16s."