Molly Rose Foundation Urges UK to Curb Addictive Features, Not Ban Under-16s as 70% Bypass Australia Rule
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 13
Molly Rose Foundation Urges UK to Curb Addictive Features, Not Ban Under-16s as 70% Bypass Australia Rule
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 13
Summary
Andy Burrows said an under-16 social media ban would be unenforceable and urged the UK to target autoplay, infinite scroll and recommendation algorithms instead.
70% of Australian parents whose children already had social media accounts said those children were still using platforms after Australia introduced its ban in January, evidence Burrows cited against copying the model.
Keir Starmer is due to present the government's online safety plans to parliament on Monday after a January consultation on children's social media use drew 116,211 responses.
Molly Rose Foundation argues those addictive features helped drive the harms linked to Molly Russell's 2017 death at age 14, and says tougher enforcement of existing laws would protect children better than a blanket ban.