Amid growing calls to ban smartphones for under 16s, Keir Starmer has said he doesn’t agree with the approach but does want to do more to protect children. The Prime Minister was asked about Labour’s policy on smartphones for children in a recent interview on LBC, with the Labour leader explaining that there needs to be stronger controls about what under 16s can access online.
‘In relation to simply banning phones for under 16s, I don't think that's a good idea. I don't think that's a practical way forward,’ he said. ‘But I do think I will sit down with anyone to look at how we'll put in place better protections because all parents and everybody across the country is concerned about what can actually be accessed on a phone.’
The calls to ban smartphones for under 16s came after concerns raised by Esther Ghey, mother of Brianna Ghey who was murdered by two fellow teenagers in February last year. Esther believes Brianna could still be alive if the teenagers were not able to access violent content online, which they did via the dark web and regular internet when plotting Brianna’s murder. She also says Brianna spent a lot of time on her own phone and believes that contributed to her experiencing mental health issues like anxiety.
‘I would like to see mobile phone companies, tech companies take more responsibility for children's welfare,’ she said in an interview with Sky News. ‘I'd like to see mobile phones specifically made for under 16s where they can't access social media sites in the first place. Also, I'd like there to be a link to the adult's phone, to the parent's phone.
‘There is already software available because schools are using this kind of software that can flag up concerning words, so that if a child is searching what Brianna's killers did, then it would flag up instantly to the parent's phone and then they will be able to take action,’ Esther continued. ‘I think it's important to have these discussions and to see what we can do moving forward.’
In government, many MPs have raised concerns about the effect of mobile phones on children. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he supported the ban, and Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said that while she thought a ban on smartphones was unlikely, she wants the government to ‘really lean on the Apples and Googles to create phones with access that is safe by design.’
When Grazia’s parenting community, The Juggle, was polled on the issue, a large majority agreed with Starmer’s approach that while they were not in favour of outright banning smartphones for children, more needs to be done to protect them from harmful content online.