Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning social media for under-16s.

We continue to consider all options in the pursuit of online safety for children. We live in a digital age and it is important we strike the right balance. Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so children can benefit from its wide-reaching protections as quickly as possible. We are building the evidence base to inform any future action and have launched a research project looking at the links between social media and children’s wellbeing.