THE HOUSE of Lords on Wednesday voted to ban under-16s from using social media, increasing pressure on the government to follow a similar move passed in Australia.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he was not ruling out any options and said action was needed to protect children. However, the government plans to wait for the outcome of a consultation due this summer before bringing forward legislation.
Calls have grown from the opposition and within the governing Labour party for the UK to follow Australia, where under-16s have been barred from social media applications since December 10.
An amendment tabled by opposition Conservative lawmaker John Nash was passed in the House of Lords by 261 votes to 150. It was co-sponsored by a Labour peer and a Liberal Democrat peer.
"Tonight, peers put our children's future first," Nash said. "This vote begins the process of stopping the catastrophic harm that social media is inflicting on a generation."
Ahead of the vote, Downing Street said the government would not accept the amendment, which will now go to the Labour-controlled House of Commons. More than 60 Labour MPs have urged Starmer to support a ban.
Public figures, including actor Hugh Grant, have called on the government to back the proposal, saying parents alone cannot address harms linked to social media.
Some child-protection groups have warned that a ban could create a false sense of security.
A YouGov poll conducted in December found that 74 per cent of Britons supported a ban.
The Online Safety Act requires secure age-verification for harmful content.
