Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “very keen” for the Government to tackle addictive features within social media following a landmark trial in the US.
In a potentially precedent-setting ruling on Wednesday in Los Angeles, a jury ruled that Google, owner of YouTube, and Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, built platforms to hook young users without regard for their wellbeing.
The lawsuit, brought after a young woman argued a childhood addiction to social media had exacerbated her mental health issues, could influence the outcomes of thousands of similar cases which accuse social media firms of causing harm.
Asked if the landmark trial pointed to a shift in public mood with expectation of more aggressive regulation, Sir Keir told reporters: “I think it does, and obviously we’ll study that ruling very carefully, but I’m absolutely clear that we need to go further.
“The status quo isn’t good enough. We need to do more to protect children.
“That’s why we’re consulting about issues such as banning social media for under-16s.
“I’m very keen that we do more on addictive features within social media.”
The jury in the US recommended the 20-year-old plaintiff be awarded six million dollars (£4.4 million) in damages. Both Meta and Google disagreed with the verdict and confirmed they were planning to appeal.
The Government is currently weighing up whether to implement a blanket ban on social media for under-16s, following a similar prohibition in Australia.
Ministers are currently consulting on the plan while hundreds of teenagers are taking part in a trial of social media bans, time limits and curfews.
Peers supported a social media ban for under-16s for the second time on Wednesday.
Lord Nash, who proposed the age limit as part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, said “techies” have taken a “cavalier approach” to content damaging to children.
Speaking in Helsinki, Finland, before a summit with national leaders from the Joint Expeditionary Force, Sir Keir added: “We’ve already taken the powers so that when we get to the end of the consultation, we don’t have to wait years to implement this.
“But I want to be really clear, it’s not if things are going to change, things are going to change. The question is, how much and what are we going to do?”
Earlier in March, MPs voted against an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, that had been backed by peers, that would have introduced a social media ban for under-16s.
Snapchat and TikTok were also named defendants in the US lawsuit, but each settled before the trial started.
A Meta spokesperson said “teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app” while Google said the verdict misunderstood YouTube “which is a responsibly-built streaming platform, not a social media site”.
The California decision came a day after a New Mexico jury found Meta liable under state consumer protection law for misleading the public about the safety of its platforms and failing to protect children.
