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.
English questioning rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent, and racist jokes from 36 per cent to 41 per cent
Workplace violence against Black and ethnic minority employees rises to 26 per cent
Highlights
The Trades Union Congress surveyed 1,044 Black, Asian and ethnic minority employees. The results show clear increases in racist behaviour between 2020 and 2026.
Workers having their English questioned rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent. Those hearing racist jokes went up from 36 per cent to 41 per cent.
Racist comments made to workers or around them increased from 31 per cent to 36 per cent.
Violence and threats
The most worrying finding involves physical threats and violence, which jumped from 19 per cent to 26 per cent.
Racist posts shared on workplace social media grew from 22 per cent to 28 per cent. Racist materials being passed around increased from 19 per cent to 25 per cent.
Beyond direct racism, many workers face unfair treatment. Nearly half (45 per cent) said they get harder or less popular jobs.
Over two in five (43 per cent) receive unfair criticism. The same number (41 per cent) stay stuck on temporary contracts.
Work conditions got worse too. Those not getting enough hours rose from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
Workers denied overtime went from 30 per cent to 37 per cent. Being kept on short-term contracts increased from 33 per cent to 41 per cent.
Direct managers cause most unfair treatment (35 per cent), followed by other managers (19 per cent).
Bullying mainly comes from direct managers (30 per cent) and colleagues (28 per cent). Racist behaviour mostly comes from colleagues (33 per cent) and customers or clients (22 per cent).
Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said: "Black and ethnic minority workers are facing appalling and growing levels of racism and unfair treatment in Britain. This racism is plaguing the labour market – and it's getting worse."
The TUC is calling for urgent government action to tackle the problem. The union wants ring-fenced funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to enforce workplace protections.
It is pushing for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for companies with over 50 employees.
The TUC says the Employment Rights Act, which makes employers responsible for protecting workers from harassment by customers and clients, will be an important step forward.
The union also wants employers to treat racial harassment as a health and safety issue and monitor ethnicity data across recruitment, pay and promotions.