Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that he does not support “simply banning” anyone under the age of 16 from having phones. In May, a committee of MPs called on the new government to consider a ban within the first year. They warned of the “serious dangers” that phones can pose to children, especially online.
The PM has said that there was a “serious question” regarding the content that children can access online. The BBC reported that “he would not be drawn” on his own teenage children’s screen times being monitored.
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britian, Sir Keir said that “we need to look again” at how content online is controlled. But while he has repeatedly voiced his concerns about his own children’s privacy online, he also said that he and his wife will be taking a “strong decision” to keep them out of political discussions.
“Generally, I do think we should look at what is available online to children,” he said, “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.”
Speaking to the ITV programme during his visit to Washington DC for the NATO summit, the PM said that he is willing to “sit down with anyone” to discuss how best to put better protections in place. “All parents and everybody across the country is concerned about what can actually be accessed on a phone,” he said.
