Call for urgency on any Jersey under-16 social media ban

Jersey's next Children's Minister is being urged to tackle the subject of whether to introduce a ban on social media for under-16s 'on day one'.

The UK has decided to introduce restrictions on platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram from next Spring.

A Government of Jersey spokesperson says it is for the next Council of Ministers to consider once it is in place.

Chief Minister Senator Lyndon Farnham is due to finalise his ministerial team on Monday 29 June.

Deputy Catherine Curtis chaired the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel during the previous States Assembly term and led a review of online harms.

Deputy Curtis said:

"It's very interesting what is happening in the UK. There are so many parents who are very concerned about the effects of online harms to their children, and lots of children and young people are worried about it too, so it could be an effective way to do things.

"I think our government will have to step up and as soon as there's a Minister in place responsible for this, whoever that is, from day one, they are going to have act on this subject, and see if we are going to also bring in a ban on social media for under-16s.

"I always considered a complete ban on social media to be a backstop position because, ideally, the big online companies would take some responsibility and deal with the harms but they're not willing to do that. They seem to just not care about children's welfare at all.

"So that means we're left in a position where we probably have to ban social media for children."

The UK will follow Australia in implementing restrictions, but there has been criticism over its effectiveness, as many young people have managed to bypass age verification software.

Deputy Curtis adds:

"It seems that a lot of young people bypass the restrictions, but the younger children - eight, nine, and ten - are being more protected by these restrictions and as time goes on, I think it will become more of a norm that children get used to not being on social media constantly, which is what a lot of the older teenagers have grown up with and find hard to do without it.

"So I think the social media ban will be effective, but it needs to be given time."

Tech giants - including Snapchat and YouTube - warn that a blanket ban could drive young people into unregulated online spaces.

Read: Under-16 social media ban 'will protect children'

In January, Jersey's ministers indicated they would support the principle of more restrictions here.