The chair of the Commons education committee warns that the online world presents serious dangers, and parents are facing an uphill battle
MPs are calling on the next government to contemplate a complete prohibition on smartphones for those under 16 and a legal ban on mobile phone usage in schools, as part of an effort to reduce screen time for children.
These recommendations were made by members of the House of Commons education committee in a report examining the effects of screen time on education and wellbeing. The report also urged ministers to raise the age threshold for opening a social media account to 16.
Robin Walker MP, the Conservative chair of the committee, stated that excessive screen and smartphone usage had a “clear negative impact” on the wellbeing of children and young people.
Walker remarked, “The online world poses serious dangers, from exposure to pornography to criminal gangs using online platforms to recruit children. Parents and schools face an uphill struggle, and the government must do more to assist them in meeting this challenge. This could involve radical measures, such as possibly banning smartphones for those under 16.”
Rishi Sunak is considering a ban on selling smartphones to those under 16 and raising the minimum age for social media accounts. However, a planned consultation on these proposals has not yet been released.
The education committee’s report recommended that the next government collaborate with Ofcom, the communications regulator, to initiate a consultation on new measures regarding smartphone use. These measures would include a complete ban on smartphones for children under 16, parental controls being pre-installed on phones, and restrictions in app stores to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content.
The report suggests that the government should contemplate making a ban on mobile phone use in schools in England a legal requirement. In February, ministers provided guidance to headteachers that “prohibits the use of mobile phones” throughout the school day.
The report recommended the establishment of a formal monitoring system to assess the effectiveness of the ban and to consider the possibility of making it statutory. The report stated, “If the results indicate that a non-statutory ban has not been effective within 12 months, the government should act promptly to implement a statutory ban.”
The report also stated that the upcoming government should initiate a consultation by the end of 2024 to determine whether 13 is an appropriate age for children to consent to social media platforms accessing their personal data online and to create a social media account. Currently, the minimum age for opening an account on most major platforms in the UK is 13.
The report highlighted that the age of consent in the UK is 16, driving is permitted at 17, and the voting age in England is 18, stating, “The next government should propose 16 as a more suitable age for the age of digital consent.”
The report referenced research indicating a 52% increase in children’s screen time between 2020 and 2022, as well as a study indicating that nearly 25% of children and young people use their smartphones in an addictive manner. It also noted research from the children’s commissioner for England indicating that 79% of children had encountered violent pornography online before turning 18.
Ofcom recently reported that a quarter of three- and four-year-olds in the UK now possess a smartphone, and nearly all children own a mobile phone by the age of 12. The communications regulator also discovered that half of children under 13 are using social media.
The MPs stated, “The overwhelming evidence submitted to us indicates that the harms of screen time and social media use far outweigh the benefits for young children.”
Smartphone Free Childhood, a campaign group advocating for handset restrictions, praised the report. Daisy Greenwell, the group’s co-founder, remarked, “It’s extremely encouraging to see this influential committee, which has gathered a wide range of evidence from experts in education and child development, reaching the same conclusion as our grassroots community of 100,000 parents.”
Ian Russell, chair of the Molly Rose Foundation, whose 14-year-old daughter Molly died by suicide after encountering harmful content on social media, emphasized that the upcoming government should focus on regulation rather than bans, which could result in “worse outcomes.”
He stated, “Bans on smartphones and social media would do more harm than good and penalize children for the tech companies’ failures to safeguard them. The next government must adhere to the evidence and implement stricter regulations.”