A ban on under-16s using social media ‘could create a false sense of safety’ and push children into less regulated online spaces, school leaders are warning.
NAHT, the school leaders’ union, says the risks of the online world will persist and could worsen if any ban is not supported by other measures and robust government action to compel online companies to make their platforms safer.
The union expresses support for daily screen time limits and age restrictions on features including infinite scrolling, autoplay, affirmation features such a likes and comments, alerts and push notifications, and personalised content recommendations.
NAHT’s warning comes as the government consultation on preparing children for ‘rapid technological change’ - including potential new age restrictions on social media, as well as limiting functions on these platforms and other services such as gaming sites and AI chatbots - closes at midnight.
In its consultation response, the union expresses concerns that ‘discourse around the issue has become reductive and overly simplified around a binary choice of banning social media to under 16s’.
It says: ‘NAHT members have raised concern about solely focusing on a ban at the expense of wider safety measures and restrictions, highlighting that it could create a false sense of safety while pushing children into less regulated online spaces’.
NAHT says a decision on whether the current minimum age of access to social media, 13, should be raised, is one for the government to make, informed by evidence from its consultation.
But it adds that doing so without a broader focus on other safety measures could ‘create a dangerous cliff edge at 16, potentially exposing young people to platforms that are more high-risk due to the lack of urgency for social media companies to tackle harmful content and algorithms in the belief that children are no longer using their platforms’.
The union says that evidence suggests children and young people under the age of 16 are still using social media in Australia, despite the ban there (1) and that existing age restrictions in the UK are easily circumvented by entering a false birth date.
NAHT says that regardless of whether a ban is imposed, there must be a ‘resolute focus on ensuring that social media companies are not absolved from taking responsibility to make their platforms safer’, alongside increased government monitoring and regulation to ensure they do so.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT’s general secretary, said: “Although the digital world, including social media, has many benefits for children, there also real risks, from online bullying, AI deepfakes, and misinformation, to grooming and exploitation.
“Excessive screentime and scrolling late into the evening can also affect children’s concentration in the classroom. While most schools already have restrictions on mobile phones which will now be supported by the government’s new statutory guidance, the reality is that they cannot control children’s phone use at home.
“Any move to raise the minimum age for social media use to 16 would need to be supported by truly effective age verification measures. Even the current minimum age of 13 is difficult to enforce, so if the threshold is raised this could prove harder still, as we have seen in Australia.
“It is clear a ban alone would not be a panacea to all the risks posed by social media and the online world, and it would need to be supported by a much wider package of measures.
“Focusing on a social media ban at the expense of broader action to ensure companies get their houses in order, would risk letting them off the hook.”
Mr Whiteman also stressed the importance of better protections on messaging services like WhatsApp, and online games like Roblox.
NAHT says online providers and social platforms need to expand and improve the moderation of content hosted on their sites, to minimise children’s exposure to harmful and inaccurate content.
It says they must ensure algorithms are designed to minimise risks to children and addictive behaviour, and that there must be clear functions to report concerns, with more transparent codes of conduct outlining the implications of misuse.
The union is urging the government to build on its new children’s online safety campaign, expanding its remit to include the ethical and safety implications of AI and ensuring young people receive consistency of messaging at school and at home.
