Sir Keir Starmer will say ‘looking the other way is not an option’ as he pushes social media giants to ramp up protections for young users.
Sir Keir Starmer will summon senior figures from TikTok, X, Meta and other social media giants to Downing Street to push them to go further on protecting children as the Government weighs new restrictions.
The Prime Minister said the talks on Thursday will be about “making sure social media companies step up and take responsibility” as failing to act would have “stark” consequences.
Senior leaders from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, Elon Musk’s X, Snap, TikTok, and Google – which owns YouTube – will be questioned by Sir Keir and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall on what they are doing to protect children and respond to parental concerns.
The meeting comes midway through the Government’s consultation on how to protect children online, which could include an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, limits on addictive features, and stronger controls on AI chatbots.
Ministers are under continued pressure to follow Australia’s lead, with opposition MPs seeking to keep Tory peer John Nash’s amendment barring under-16s from platforms deemed the most harmful in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as it returns to the Commons in the final “ping pong” stages of parliamentary scrutiny.
Sir Keir has previously been hesitant to support an outright ban but has signalled he will take action to curb features such as infinite scrolling that keep young users hooked to social media.
Ahead of the talks, the Labour leader said: “Social media shapes how children see themselves, their friendships and the world around them. When that comes with real risks, looking the other way is not an option.
“Parents rightly expect action and fast. That’s why we’ve already taken the powers needed to move quickly once our consultation ends.
“I will take whatever steps necessary to keep children safe online. Today is about making sure social media companies step up and take responsibility.
“The consequences of failing to act are stark. We owe it to parents, and to the next generation, to put children’s safety first – because they won’t forgive us if we don’t.”
Some social media firms have already ramped up protective measures such as disabling autoplay for younger users, giving parents more control over screen time and introducing curfews, but the Prime Minister has said they must go further, No 10 said.
A ban for under-16s has received pushback from the industry, with Google’s UK boss warning that is not the “right approach” and could push children towards more dangerous corners of the internet.
Kate Alessi, managing director and vice-president of Google UK and Ireland, told the Press Association last month: “We believe blanket bans take choices away from parents and push kids out of supervised spaces.”
Lord Nash, a Conservative former schools minister, has said recent court cases in the US which found social media platforms liable for designing addictive platforms and exposing children to harmful content were “game changers” for his cause of introducing an age limit.
The Government has promised to move quickly once its Growing Up In The Online World consultation closes on May 26, with changes to be made within months.
It has already received more than 45,000 responses, including from nearly 6,000 young people, according to Downing Street.
On Wednesday evening, MPs rejected a second bid from the Lords to bring in an immediate social media ban on under-16s.
Peers have twice voted to introduce an age limit in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill but both efforts have been seen off in the Commons.
Education minister Olivia Bailey said: “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.”
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, responded with a call for Sir Keir to “decisively commit to strengthening regulation to make unsafe and addictive design a thing of the past”.
