Bereaved parents urge MPs to support social media ban for under-16s

"Twenty-three bereaved parents have urged MPs to back a ban on social media for under-16s, stating that mothers and fathers "cannot regulate billion-dollar technology companies from their kitchen tables". MPs are set to debate the Lords-backed ban on Monday. Peers have proposed a default block on under-16s accessing regulated user-to-user services, effective within 12 months of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill becoming law."

"We are writing not as campaigners or politicians, but as bereaved parents, the group of parents said in a statement. Our children should be here. They should be at school, at home, arguing with their siblings, planning their futures."

Twenty-three bereaved parents have called on MPs to support a ban on social media access for children under 16, emphasizing that individual parents cannot effectively regulate large technology companies. The House of Lords has backed a proposal for a default block on under-16s accessing regulated user-to-user services within 12 months of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill becoming law. The Government proposes an alternative approach offering flexible ministerial powers to prevent or restrict children's access to specified internet services through various means including bans, curfews, or daily time limits. A consultation was launched to determine the specific implementation strategy. MPs are scheduled to debate the measure on Monday.

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