Starmer Rejects Smartphone Ban for Under-16s

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (C) talks to journalists as he travels onboard a plane to Washington to attend a Nato summit, on July 9, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/PA

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected the idea of banning mobile phones for under-16s but said he would explore ways to control the content is accessible to children.

On Friday, the prime minister told ITV’s “Good Morning Britain” that there is “serious question” regarding children’s use of smart phones.

“I think there’s a serious question as to what the content is and the control of the content and that is something where I think we need to look again,” he said.

“But generally, I do think we should look at what is available online to children, but 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 added.

Sir Keir said he 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.”

Labour did not mention any smartphone harms in its manifesto.

Total Ban

In a report in May, MPs on the Education Committee said the next government should consider a statutory ban on mobile phones in schools and a total ban on phones for under-16s.

It outlined serious dangers posed to children online and found there has been a 52 percent increase in children’s screen time between 2020 and 2022.

Nearly 25 percent of children and young people use their smartphones in a way that is consistent with a behavioural addiction.

The committee said that the government should work with mobile phone companies and network operators to “promote children’s phones” a class of phone which can be used for contact and GPS location but not access to the internet or downloading apps.

It said that the Online Safety Act 2023 will “undoubtably play a role in keeping children safe from online harms” but was concerned that children will not feel the full protections of the Act until implementation is completed in 2026.

On Tuesday, former Conservative minster Miriam Cates said: “This is not an issue of freedoms or rights but one of child protection. Just as we protect children by prohibiting them from smoking, drinking, and having sex, we have a moral duty to protect them from the proven harms of smartphones and social media.”

Increasing Harms

Director of UsForThem, Arabella Skinner told The Epoch Times by email that recent laws cannot protect children from the “myriad” of problems associated with smartphone use.

The parents campaign group is calling for a tobacco-style regulatory framework for smartphones via its Safe Screens campaign.

“While we agree that a blanket ban on smartphones for those under 16 is not the answer, we are advocating for a package of legal and regulatory measures to protect our children from addictive-by-design smartphones and to act as a catalyst for a new regime for child-safe, smarter products,” she said.

“Focusing solely on harmful content, which the Online Safety Act in its current form will not solve, fails to address the broader issues of smartphone addiction. It will do nothing to protect our children against the myriad and increasing harms (physical, mental and developmental) associated with smartphone usage,” she added.

PA Media contributed to this report.