Molly Russell's dad against under-16s social media ban

The father of Molly Russell has said that banning under-16s from using social media would be wrong and could have unintended consequences.

- REBECCA THOMAS

Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter took her own life after viewing harmful content on social media, said the government should enforce the current law rather than implement “sledgehammer techniques like bans”. Speaking to the BBC, he suggested the ban could have “unintended consequences” and would “cause more problems”.

He said: “That has got to change - and I don’t think that we’re that far away from it changing, which is why it’s slightly exasperating that we’re going through these same arguments again now about bans. It’s not far away - we can build on what we’ve got far better than simply implementing sledgehammer techniques like bans that will have unintended consequences and cause more problems.”

His comments follow calls on Sir Keir Starmer to place restrictions on under-16s accessing social media platforms in recent weeks. The prime minister has so far resisted, instead saying it is monitoring how a similar ban in Australia is working.