Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill has questioned the timing of the announcement of a social media ban for under-16s. Ms O'Neill queried whether the move, announced on Monday morning, was "about internal Labour Party politics as opposed to the right thing." However, Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan welcomed the decision as "the right thing to do."
Political Reactions
Speaking to media at Parliament Buildings on Monday, Ms O'Neill said the issue was a "complex conversation." She stated, "I find it really interesting that Keir Starmer decides to announce this this morning, in a week that the Makerfield by-election is going to happen, the week that potentially a contender for the leadership of the Labour Party is going to come forward, and he seems to have rushed forward with this announcement."
She added, "Obviously, we all want to protect our children, but I think this is allowing social media companies to get away in the smoke in terms of their responsibility around stuff that they allow to be on platforms. So I think that this is a very complex conversation that we need to have a discussion on, and I feel like the announcement this morning has come as a direct result of internal Labour Party politics as opposed to what is the right thing to do in this space."
Education Minister's Support
Speaking separately, Mr Givan welcomed the announcement, saying it followed on from work he had been doing, such as a pilot programme on mobile phone pouches for school pupils to leave their devices in during the day. "This will take it to the next stage though for broader society, having a social media restriction in place for our young people is the right thing to do because of the harm that it causes in so many areas around anxiety, mental health, depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, many caused by young people getting access to this technology much too early, even before they are 10-years-old," he said.
Mr Givan said he had spoken to Ben Carroll, deputy premier of Victoria, Australia, where a similar ban has been introduced, who he said had called the action "transformative" and having made a positive impact. "There will be many parents across Northern Ireland who will be saying the Prime Minister is right – I am one of them," he said.
He added, "I know what it is like to have this constant battle about how often your phone is being used because I can see the harm that it causes to many of our young people, and therefore this will help parents, it will help protect our children so that we get the right approaches for our young people and we don't rob them of their childhood because of the harmful nature of social media."
