Starmer’s under-16 social media child-lock misses the real issue, say Greens
Scottish Greens Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Laura Moodie MSP, has criticised the UK Government’s proposed ban on social media for under-16s, arguing that it fails to address the harmful content and powerful algorithms that pose the greatest risks to young people online.
This follows Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay MSP’s question she raised at First Minister’s Questions on 11th June 2026, calling for the Scottish Government to use the devolved power it already has to better regulate online platforms.
Scottish Greens Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Laura Moodie MSP said:
“Protecting children should be paramount, but you can’t child-lock the internet and pretend the job is done.
“The danger is not that young people have social media accounts, it is that platforms are flooded with harmful content, misinformation and algorithms designed to maximise engagement at any cost. None of that magically disappears when someone turns 16.
“This proposal risks creating a digital cliff edge. People do not suddenly become digitally literate on their 16th birthday. Instead, we should be teaching everyone how to navigate online spaces safely while making those spaces safer in the first place.
“We’ve seen trillionaire platform owner Elon Musk wielding enormous influence over public debate in the UK through the platform he owns. Restricting access for children does nothing to tackle that concentration of power or hold technology companies to account.
“The focus should be on fixing social media, not just fencing children out of it. We must do more to hold platforms accountable, regulate harmful content and make the online-world safer for everyone.”
Laura Moodie MSP added:
“If Keir Starmer is serious about online safety, he should be taking on ‘Big Tech’ rather than relying on a ban that is likely to be circumvented and leaves the underlying issues untouched.
“If the UK Government genuinely wants to put children first, it should trust Scotland to do the same.
“The Scottish Parliament already leads on education and children’s policy. Greater powers over online safety should be devolved, so decisions affecting Scotland’s young people can be made here.
“Just last week, our co-leader Gillian Mackay MSP, called on the First Minister to use the Scottish Government’s devolved powers to treat social media platforms more like publishers, and take stronger action against hateful and misleading online content.”