MPs in the UK are being urged to listen to campaigners to raise the age for social media accounts to 16.
Described as a public health emergency to protect our children, Greece has listened to the urgent appeals, officially banning social media access for under-15s. To combat addictive design, the restriction will be legislated from January 2027, aimed at tackling sleep and anxiety issues.
In the United States, global tech firms are having to take accountability for what goes on on their platforms. Ongoing legal cases, where tech CEOs from Meta and YouTube have been cross-examined on these points, are exposing serious concerns around the addictive design of social media sites and the impact on children’s mental health and safety.
Most campaigners are arguing for the lower age to be raised, like in Australia, which became one of the first countries to remove accounts from under-16s—allowing for children’s mental development to take place so they become more self-aware of the dangers as they mature.
The UK also raised the debate this month in the House of Lords on what the minimum age for social media should be, stepping in the right direction. However, with the current government showing resistance to taking the most serious stance on it, the bill will take more strength from the majority—the public—to make a meaningful change in the law. Whilst the House of Lords can propose and amend laws, they don’t have the final say, which will now be deferred to the House of Commons for the next stage of the UK’s debate.
Families face potentially life-changing, devastating consequences, like losing their child in the most serious cases. The evidence suggests that this can potentially expose them to suicide content, grooming, sextortion, cyberbullying, and dangerous viral challenges.
