The Molly Rose Foundation welcomed the consultation, saying it was a “crucial opportunity to decisively strengthen online safety laws and stand up for children and families”.<\/p>\n
The charity was established by the family of Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 at the age of 14 after viewing self-harm and suicide content on platforms including Instagram.<\/p>\n
But several other charities and campaign groups, including the NSPCC, have said a full ban on social media for under-16s risks “unintended consequences” and have called instead for stronger enforcement of existing child safety rules.<\/p>\n
“It would create a false sense of safety that would see children – but also the threats to them – migrate to other areas online,” the organisations wrote in a joint statement in February.<\/p>\n
Sonia Livingstone, a professor of social psychology at the London School of Economics, told the BBC: “What everyone wants to see is better safety from Big Tech companies, and then children could express themselves and connect online as they want to.”<\/p>\n
Social media platforms have come under more scrutiny recently as governments and regulators study the effects their content and design have on children’s wellbeing.<\/p>\n
In February the EU told TikTok<\/a> it must change its “addictive design” or face heavy fines, a move which the Chinese-owned platform said it would challenge.<\/p>\n