Keir Starmer poised to ban social media for under 16s - but bereaved dad issues final warning

Keir Starmer poised to ban social media for under 16s - but bereaved dad issues final warning EXCLUSIVE: Keir Starmer is poised to announce a social media ban for under 16s - but bereaved parent Ian Russell, the dad of Molly Russell, is urging him to think again Young girls are still being bombarded with suicide and self-harm content on social media despite the Online Safety Act coming into force last summer, research shows. Ian Russell, the dad of Molly Russell, is urging Keir Starmer not to impose a blanket social media ban for under 16s but to introduce more targeted action to tackle the harmful content that led his 14-year-old daughter to take her own life in 2017. The Prime Minister is poised to announce a ban for under 16s using sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, on Monday, after the Government held a three-month consultation on the best path to take. Polling released to The Mirror shows half (47%) of girls and a third of all teens aged 13 to 17 saw high risk suicide, self-harm and eating disorder content over the course of one week in April. And only slightly fewer teens are seeing harmful content now (34%) than immediately before the Online Safety Act came into force (37%), the study showed. It raises questions about the effectiveness of online safety laws and whether tech giants are following the rules. The Molly Rose Foundation (MRF), which produced the research, said it is “gravely concerned” that an Australian-style social media ban will fail to address the fundamental product safety issues highlighted in its research. The Mirror understands the Government’s social media ban for under 16s will go further than Australia, with restrictions on design features and overnight curfews to be introduced for 16- and 17-year-olds. It will also be expanded to more services such as gaming platforms. Mr Russell - who has long been against a ban - said he feels "desperately let down” by Mr Starmer, accusing him of taking the easier route over making social media safer in the long-term. He told The Mirror: “It's just desperately disappointing that young people in this country, instead of change happening and a safe digital space for them to grow up in - if these reports (of a ban) are to be believed - what will be left behind is the same dangerous digital landscape. “But children will still find a way around it, as they always do around any ban, and as Australia is proving, and therefore it would almost be more dangerous than less dangerous. Nothing has been done to tackle the problem at source. That is taking a politically easy option and not doing as promised, not listening to the evidence.” Nine in 10 parents who responded to the Government's online safety consultation demanded Australia-style age limits. Australia banned access to social media for under 16s in December, yet MRF polling suggests three in five (61%) Australian 12 to 15 year-olds still have access to one or more accounts on restricted platforms. Some experts warn a ban lets tech firms off the hook in improving their products. Arturo Béjar, a former senior Meta employee turned Whistleblower, told the Mirror he wants tech firms to be forced to prove their platforms are safe before young people can access them. He told The Mirror: “I think that if the world does a very assertive definition of what it means for the platforms to be safe, Meta gets a choice to either comply, or if they won't make it safe, then lose that market or those people, right? They keep saying that they will respect local regulation. I haven't seen good faith embracing of any local regulation.” Other bereaved parents are fiercely in favour of a ban. Ellen Roome, who believes her son Julian “Jools” Sweeney, 14, died while attempting an online challenge in 2022, previously criticised MPs for rejecting an attempt by peers to ban social media for under 16s. Ms Roome, who is suing TikTok with other British families over their children’s deaths, told The Mirror in March: “For families like mine, this is not a theoretical debate. My 14-year-old son Jools died in 2022, and since then I have met many other parents whose children have also been harmed through social media platforms.” The National Education Union (NEU), which represents hundreds of thousands of school staff, is also among organisations who support a ban. Media regulator Ofcom last year ordered online services to take urgent action to stop kids seeing content relating to pornography, suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. All social media were forced to introduce age assurances by July 2025 or risk punishment under the Online Safety Act. This applied to sites like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Twitter/X. ::: MEL Research surveyed 1,825 children aged 13-17 across the UK, supported by the PHSE Association, with in-school fieldwork taking place during April 2026. For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.