Agenda item

(time limit 20 minutes)

Opposing the Under-16 Social Media Ban

In January 2026, the House of Lords voted in favour of an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The amendment sought to introduce a total ban on social media for children under the age of 16, requiring platforms to implement "highly effective" age-assurance measures.

On 9^th March, in the final stages of the Bill’s passage through the Commons, the Government formally addressed the proposed amendment for a total blanket ban on social media for under-16s. While the immediate, universal ban was ultimately voted down in favour of a more evidence-based approach, we at Oldham Youth Council worry that the Government’s commitment may lead to introducing significant statutory limitations Instead, which could be used to restrict Internet access to under 18s.

When cars were invented and got faster, we realised car crashes were very dangerous, but we didn’t ban children from being in cars, we made them safer with seatbelts, anti-roll bars, air bags, and other safety measures. Social media wasn’t created by young people but it’s the world that we have grown up in and much of everyday life is linked to it.  We didn’t create the monster, but a wide scale ban would potentially see us punished for it, even those who use it responsibly and safely which is the majority of young people. 

We feel that these limitations pose concerns for young people within their learning and educative experiences through social media. This ultimately may also end up hiding diverse content and peer-led support groups for topics such as mental health and LGBTQ+ communities, effectively "sanitising" an online experiences.

Our own Youth Mayor was able to put a question to the Prime Minister about this legislation and he informed her that the Government is currently consulting with young people, along with parents and other adults who work with young people.  We as a youth council have been able to complete the survey but numbers and statistics, don’t always show a true picture.  While the Prime Minister did say consultation will happen with focus groups, this seemed to be with large youth organisations and not the young people it will affect most.

Concerns that we feel should be addressed and considered through this consultation process and amendment of the bill are as follows:

a.    A potential increase in usage of unregulated apps. Young people may move into dangerous and less visible spaces and bypass age restrictions by using VPNs or by giving incorrect details which would lead to less adult oversight.

b.    Ofcom reports that 80% of 12–17-year-olds use social media for school and homework assistance, while 52% use it for learning new skills. This would dramatically decrease access to those young people whose learning style benefit from access to digital engagement.

c.     Limitations of access to social media when used correctly would disproportionally harm marginalise groups of young people, such as the LGBTQ+ community, who rely on social media for support and socialisation that some find difficult in person.

We understand that there are dangers relating to young people accessing social media and we want our Government to safeguard young people. However, we feel a blanket ban will not safeguard young people but rather drive them to find ways around access to the applications and put themselves at more risk.

We therefore propose that Council resolves:

1.    To request that the Chief Executive write to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Children and Families, and his team who are carrying out the consultation, to invite them to visit Oldham during the current national consultation period.  We would happily host a dedicated consultation session with young people from across Oldham with the aim of allowing those young people to voice their specific concerns regarding the proposed social media regulations.

2.    That all school heads are written to, asking them to support young people’s engagement in the current consultation survey and that Oldham Council promote the consultation to young people, parents and carers, and all professionals who work with young people. 

We would hope that this ensures that Oldham provides a diverse young people’s voice reflected in the final legislative framework.

The Youth Council PROPOSED the following MOTION (introduced by Hassan Ghafoor and Asad Ranja):

Opposing the Under-16 Social Media Ban

In January 2026, the House of Lords voted in favour of an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The amendment sought to introduce a total ban on social media for children under the age of 16, requiring platforms to implement "highly effective" age-assurance measures.

On 9^th March, in the final stages of the Bill’s passage through the Commons, the Government formally addressed the proposed amendment for a total blanket ban on social media for under-16s. While the immediate, universal ban was ultimately voted down in favour of a more evidence-based approach, we at Oldham Youth Council worry that the Government’s commitment may lead to introducing significant statutory limitations Instead, which could be used to restrict Internet access to under 18s.

When cars were invented and got faster, we realised car crashes were very dangerous, but we didn’t ban children from being in cars, we made them safer with seatbelts, anti-roll bars, air bags, and other safety measures. Social media wasn’t created by young people but it’s the world that we have grown up in and much of everyday life is linked to it.  We didn’t create the monster, but a wide scale ban would potentially see us punished for it, even those who use it responsibly and safely which is the majority of young people. 

We feel that these limitations pose concerns for young people within their learning and educative experiences through social media. This ultimately may also end up hiding diverse content and peer-led support groups for topics such as mental health and LGBTQ+ communities, effectively "sanitising" an online experience.

Our own Youth Mayor was able to put a question to the Prime Minister about this legislation and he informed her that the Government is currently consulting with young people, along with parents and other adults who work with young people.  We as a youth council have been able to complete the survey but numbers and statistics, don’t always show a true picture.  While the Prime Minister did say consultation will happen with focus groups, this seemed to be with large youth organisations and not the young people it will affect most.

Concerns that we feel should be addressed and considered through this consultation process and amendment of the bill are as follows:

-          A potential increase in usage of unregulated apps. Young people may move into dangerous and less visible spaces and bypass age restrictions by using VPNs or by giving incorrect details which would lead to less adult oversight.

-          Ofcom reports that 80% of 12–17-year-olds use social media for school and homework assistance, while 52% use it for learning new skills. This would dramatically decrease access to those young people whose learning style benefit from access to digital engagement.

-          Limitations of access to social media when used correctly would disproportionally harm marginalise groups of young people, such as the LGBTQ+ community, who rely on social media for support and socialisation that some find difficult in person.

We understand that there are dangers relating to young people accessing social media and we want our Government to safeguard young people. However, we feel a blanket ban will not safeguard young people but rather drive them to find ways around access to the applications and put themselves at more risk.

We therefore propose that Council resolves to ask the Chief Executive to write to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Children and Families, and his team who are carrying out the consultation, to invite them to visit Oldham during the current national consultation period.  We would happily host a dedicated consultation session with young people from across Oldham with the aim of allowing those young people to voice their specific concerns regarding the proposed social media regulations.

We propose that all school heads are written to, asking them to support young people’s engagement in the current consultation survey and that Oldham Council promote the consultation to young people, parents and carers, and all professionals who work with young people. 

We would hope that this ensures that Oldham provides a diverse young people’s voice reflected in the final legislative framework.

The Motion was MOVED by Councillor Mushtaq and SECONDED by Councillor Harkness.

AMENDMENT

Councillor Wahid MOVED and Councillor Ghafoor SECONDED the following AMENDMENT:

To add the following as new resolution 3:

“3. To request a report to the appropriate scrutiny body within six months setting out what work is currently being delivered in Oldham on online safety, digital resilience, online exploitation risks, and support for parents and carers, together with recommendations for strengthening borough-wide support and awareness.”

On being put to the Vote the AMENDMENT was LOST.

On being put to the vote the MOTION was CARRIED.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Chief Executive be requested to write to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Children and Families, and his team who are carrying out the consultation, to invite them to visit Oldham during the current national consultation period.  The Youth Council will happily host a dedicated consultation session with young people from across Oldham with the aim of allowing those young people to voice their specific concerns regarding the proposed social media regulations.

2.    That the Chief Executive be requested to write to all school heads, asking that they support young people’s engagement in the current consultation survey and that Oldham Council promote the consultation to young people, parents and carers, and all professionals who work with young people.