“A blanket ban on social media might sound simple – but it will not address the real issues”

10 February 2026

“As the merits of potential social media restrictions for children and young people being introduced continue to be discussed, it is the view of my office and I that over‑simplistic bans don’t protect children and can, in fact, make things worse by pushing them into more dangerous, unregulated online spaces where risks increase, not disappear.

“Young people tell us that outright bans ignore their rights, limit their voices, and fail to tackle the real challenges they face online. They want support to navigate the digital world safely – not to be shut out of it.

“The UN Committee’s General Comment on children’s rights in the digital environment is clear: children have a right to participate safely online, and governments must take balanced, proportionate steps that protect them without unnecessarily restricting their rights.

“Yes, we absolutely need to address screen time, social media use, addictive doom‑scrolling and wider online harms. We need to think carefully about age‑appropriateness, safeguarding, and how we support children to develop healthy digital habits. But this is a societal issue, and it requires a collective, proportionate response – stronger digital education, better regulation of platforms, and meaningful support for families, schools, and young people.

“My office and I regularly discuss these issues with children and young people, and members of the NICCY Youth Panel have been kind enough to share their views with me recently:

‘I am very much of the view that a blanket ban is unenforceable in practice and is unrealistic, at least for current users under the age of 16. I think regulations are more realistic.’ – Elodie
‘Under-16s are going to find how to cheat the ban. It’s going to cause far more trouble than good and, if our government actually cared about children and wellbeing, they wouldn’t try copying what another country has done.’ – Kayla
‘In some cases, social media can be beneficial, allowing some people/groups to connect and help some people feel less alone… but, obviously this has been heavily misused – so stronger regulations on who is using and how would need to be in place, too. Also, social media is just one of many places that needs a serious overall and proper look at how to protect the safety of women and girls as much as possible.’ – Seren

Chris continued: “Big Tech cannot be let off the hook – and a blanket ban risks doing exactly that. Companies will inevitably find ways around such bans, and their systems are not designed with children’s best interests at their core.

“NICCY will continue to monitor this issue closely and is working with counterparts across the UK, Ireland and Europe to ensure that the best interests of the child remain at the centre of all decision‑making.”

Chris Quinn, NI Commissioner for Children and Young People