Father of teen who died after seeing harmful content online criticizes planned social media ban

Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly died at 14 after viewing harmful content online, said he is dismayed by reports that the government plans to ban young people from some social media platforms.

Russell has campaigned for stronger online protections since his daughter's death. He said sledgehammer measures such as bans would only create more problems.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce a crackdown on children's access to social media next week. Russell told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that the process had been rushed for political reasons, which he called deplorable.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the government had carried out a thorough consultation and would set out next steps in due course. The spokesperson added that the prime minister has made clear the status quo is not good enough and that more must be done to protect children.

Ministers have examined options that include a blanket ban on under-16s accessing social media, similar to the policy introduced in Australia. Details have not been released, but some reports suggest under-16s could be barred from high-risk platforms while safer ones would face restrictions.

Russell told the BBC in January that the government should enforce existing laws more strictly rather than impose bans. Speaking to BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said he would be dismayed if the announcement included such restrictions.

Early last year, Russell said, he met briefly with Starmer, who expressed concern and promised to examine effective solutions. Russell said it now appears the prime minister has not kept those promises.

Russell said Starmer had promised bereaved parents an announcement by the summer recess in mid-July but had moved the timeline forward. He said he could see no reason other than politics and called it deplorable to gamble with young people's lives.

Russell also released new research from his suicide prevention charity, the Molly Rose Foundation. A survey of 1,825 children across the UK found that 47% of girls saw high-risk harmful content on social media in a week. A third of teenagers aged 13-17 saw high-risk suicide, self-harm and eating disorder content in the same period.

The survey showed only a slight drop in children seeing harmful content after the Online Safety Act took effect, from 37% to 34%. The act, passed in 2023, requires social media companies to prevent children from viewing illegal or certain harmful content, with enforcement by Ofcom.

Russell said Ofcom had achieved little in the first year of implementing the child protection measures. He said Ofcom had been too timid and that gaps in the law needed to be closed.

Ofcom said it had introduced some of the strongest online safety rules in the world, including age checks and grooming protections, and had opened investigations into more than 100 sites and apps while issuing fines totaling £5 million. An Ofcom spokesperson said the job was far from done and that tech firms had not done enough to reassure parents.

The government also announced extra funding for after-school clubs, saying the move would help children build real-world connections instead of remaining isolated online.