A Tory MP has voiced support for the mother of murdered teen Brianna Ghey, who has launched a campaign to ban under-16s accessing social media.
Speaking after the sentencing of her daughter’s murderers this week, Esther Ghey told the BBC she wants the Government to intervene and prevent children from having access to social media apps on their phones.
The grief-stricken mother described the internet as the “Wild West”, and told Laura Kuenssberg it’s “just not doable” for parents to monitor their children’s social media usage and the content they consume.
The demand comes after revelations that the 15-year-old girl who killed Ms Ghey had downloaded a special browser onto her phone to access the dark web and watch videos involving murder.
Esther Ghey used the interview to say she believes “without a doubt” that her daughter would not have been killed if such internet safeguards were already in place.
She told the BBC: “We’d like a law introduced so that there are mobile phones that are only suitable for under-16s.
“So if you’re over 16, you can have an adult phone, but then under the age of 16, you can have a children’s phone, which will not have all of the social media apps that are out there now. And also to have software that is automatically downloaded on the parents’ phone which links to the children’s phone, that can highlight key words.
“So if a child is searching the kind of words that Scarlett and Eddie were searching, it will then flag up on the parent’s phone.”
The campaign has already received support from Conservative MP Miriam Cates, who used Prime Minister’s Questions last week to call for a ban on smartphones for under-16s.
A former teacher, Mrs Cates said there has been a “marked increase” in plummeting teenage mental health since 2010 across the English-speaking world.
She asked Mr Sunak whether he agrees it’s time to consider banning social media and perhaps even smartphones for under-16s.
This morning the prominent MP told the Express: “It is clear beyond doubt that Brianna Ghey’s murderers were inspired to commit this awful crime by the horrific material they had been consuming online and on social media.
“No child should be able to access videos showing and promoting extreme violence or suicide and self-harm.
“The law doesn’t allow children to walk into shops and buy knives or alcohol and neither should we continue to allow them to be exposed to the harm of social media.
“We must follow Florida’s lead and ban social media for under 16s.”
In January this year, Florida lawmakers approved a bill banning children under 16 from using social media, with new requirements for all users to verify their age.
The legislation will also require social media platforms to delete existing accounts held by minors, and delete any personal information from those accounts.
A Republican state lawmaker who co-sponsored the landmark Bill described the dopamine hits from social media as “addictive”, describing use as “a digital fentanyl”.
Responding to Ms Ghey’s new campaign, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told the BBC she understands that the issue is “worrying to parents”, but said the government’s own plan to ban phones in schools is “radical”.
She added that the Online Safety Act has a “lot of tools in there to try and make this content not be there in the first place”, adding it places greater emphasis on age verification of social media platforms.
