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The father of Molly Russell, who took her own life aged 14 after seeing harmful content online, has warned a ban on social media for under-16s is being ‘rushed’ by the government.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce tomorrow morning that the UK will follow Australia’s lead and prevent young people from accessing certain social media sites.
It comes less than three weeks after the end of a consultation that drew more than 110,000 responses, including tens of thousands from parents across the country.
Ian Russell, who set up the Molly Rose Foundation in his daughter’s honour, said he was ‘quite frankly dismayed’ by reports the government is preparing an announcement.
He told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: ‘In opposition, Keir Starmer promised to tighten up the online safety world by regulating better.
‘Early last year, father-to-father, I met with him briefly and he was very concerned, and he promised me he would look into effective solutions to deal with this problem.
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‘He seemed concerned. But as we sit here on the verge of this announcement, it seems that he’s not kept either of those promises.’
Mr Russell added: ‘If he’s playing politics, what he’s doing is gambling with young people’s lives. And I find that deplorable.’
Molly Russell’s death in November 2017 led to the creation of the suicide prevention charity the Molly Rose Foundation (Picture: PA)
Reacting to Mr Russell’s comments, Lisa Nandy told the BBC she would ‘respectfully disagree with some of what he said’, adding there is ‘no one solution to this and there has to be a basket of measures’.
The Culture Secretary said: ‘There is an urgency to this because young people need help now and we cannot stand aside and not act when we see that very clearly.
‘The tech companies have had more than enough time to get their own house in order, and to be able to create products that keep children safe online.
‘If they’re not prepared to do it, they lose the right, frankly, to market their products towards children and I don’t think the government should be neutral about that.’
A new poll for the Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank has found the public is largely split on whether children’s social media use should be tackled with a ban or through tighter regulation.
The survey showed 44% of the public wanted to see a ban, while 39% said they would prefer regulation.
Tech Secretary Liz Kendall will likely be responsible for setting out the ban (Picture: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Shutterstock)
However, 54% of parents with a child under 16 said they would back a ban compared to 36% who were in favour of tighter regulation.
Mr Russell pointed towards research conducted by the Molly Rose Foundation charity, which focuses on suicide prevention, which suggests that only slightly fewer children were seeing harmful content online after the introduction of the Online Safety Act.
Those arguing in favour of a ban include Esther Ghey, whose transgender teenage daughter Brianna was stabbed to death in February 2023.
She told **Metro** last month: ‘This really calls for strong leadership from Keir Starmer. We are talking about people in this country that he is in charge of. We are talking about children.
‘This is such an opportunity for him to really lead on this.
‘The longer we delay, the more children’s lives will be lost and the more families will be joining the group we are part of.’
The government has come under great pressure to block social media for under-16s since shortly after Australia began enforcing its ban in December 2025.
Peers in the House of Lords voted twice to place the measure in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, leading to a compromise where ministers promised ‘some form of age or functionality restrictions’.
Recent reports suggest the government may follow Australia’s lead in allowing under-16s to access some curated social media sites such as YouTube Kids while blocking access to others.
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