Labour backbenchers are facing calls to rebel against the Government on Monday and support an immediate ban on social media for under-16s.
In the first Commons vote on the topic, MPs have the opportunity to back a proposed change to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would force tech giants to put in place measures to stop under-16s accessing their apps.
Children would also be banned from getting around the ban by using VPNs, which disguise the internet user’s location.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are set to support the amendment, which has been passed by the House of Lords and is backed by campaigners and bereaved parents.
But Labour MPs will be under orders to oppose it, even though dozens have called for Australia-style restrictions on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
They will be whipped to support an alternative proposal put forward by the Government which could lead to less strict measures, such as overnight curfews, based on the results of a consultation launched only last week.
Last night Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said: ‘Parents and teachers want action but Labour’s response is weak and simply does not meet the scale of the challenge.
A new proposal in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill gives MPs the chance to mandate that tech giants block under-16s from accessing their apps
‘Their amendment… gives them the option to do nothing at all while the harm continues.’
And former schools minister Lord Nash, who first tabled the amendment in the upper house, urged MPs to support the ban or ‘take a gamble on a consultation with no fixed age and no guaranteed outcome’.
A Government spokesman said: ‘This is a complex issue… That’s why we have launched a consultation looking at everything from age limits and safer design features to a social media ban.’
