- Bereaved parents, including Ian Russell whose daughter Molly died in 2017 after viewing harmful content, have urged the government to take urgent action on social media harms.
- Following a meeting with the Prime Minister, campaigners were told that new measures to protect young people online would be announced within weeks, not months.
- The government's online safety consultation, Growing Up In The Online World, closed with over 80,000 responses and is considering options such as banning under-16s from social media or imposing curfews.
- Ian Russell argued against a blanket ban, instead advocating for an end to engagement-based algorithms, infinite scrolling, disappearing messages, and preventing strangers from contacting children online.
- The Education Committee recently recommended a statutory ban on social media for under-16s, while a Barnardo's survey highlighted widespread online misogyny and exposure to harmful content among young people.
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