Statement on Government’s U16s Social Media Ban

“We recognise the urgent need for meaningful action to protect children online. There is now overwhelming evidence that many children are exposed to serious harms across digital platforms, including harmful algorithmic amplification of self‑harm, eating disorders, bullying, and exploitative content. These harms are real, systemic, and demand decisive intervention.

“However, a blanket social media ban allows the root causes of harm to persist, and restricting children’s access to social media does not address the fundamental problem – that many online harms are not accidental but engineered.

“Instead of forcing platforms to redesign their services, an U16s social media ban risks letting technology companies off the hook, shifting responsibility onto children and families rather than those who design and profit from these environments.

“There is also a serious risk that blanket restrictions will displace, rather than reduce, harm. There is a risk that children and young people’s online activity shifts towards less regulated, more opaque online spaces which will mean that safeguarding becomes more difficult. Rather than protecting children, such measures could push U16s into darker and more dangerous corners of the internet.

“Child rights must remain central to proposals to ban social media. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has been clear – children have rights to access information, participate in digital life, express themselves, and build communities. A blanket ban risks undermining these rights by excluding children from digital spaces that are now integral to education, social connection, and civic participation.

“For many vulnerable children in particular, online platforms provide peer support networks, identity exploration and expression, and vital avenues for help in times of crisis. Removing access without providing safe alternatives risks deepening isolation rather than reducing harm.

“There is a danger that blanket bans offer a false sense of security – a visible, politically attractive response that suggests decisive action, while leaving underlying risks largely unchanged. We must resist the temptation of quick fixes and instead commit to evidence‑based policy that addresses the complexity of the digital environment children inhabit.

“The challenge before us is not simply to limit access, but to transform the digital environment itself. We must regulate the systems that create harm, not exclude the children who are exposed to it. We must fix the design of the digital world – not simply remove children from it.”

Chris Quinn, NI Commissioner for Children and Young People