A BAN on social media for under-16s announced by the Prime Minister “doesn’t go far enough”, warns the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath.

Wera Hobhouse MP said it risks becoming “a headline-grabbing ban that ultimately lets morally-bankrupt tech giants off the hook”.

Commenting after the announcement she said: “I'm glad the Government is finally waking up to the threat that social media poses to children and young people. However, a blanket social media ban for under-16s risks treating the symptom, not the cause.

“The problem is that tech companies continue to profit from algorithms that promote and reward harmful content.

“Until Big Tech is held properly accountable and Ofcom uses its powers to the fullest extent, children will find ways around restrictions - as we've seen in Australia - and continue to be exposed to dangerous material.

“We need to make platforms safer. A headline‑grabbing ban that ultimately lets morally-bankrupt tech giants off the hook is nowhere near enough.”

The Bath MP’s comments reflect growing concerns that age-based restrictions can be easily circumvented through tools such as VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and other workarounds.

Recent polling by the Molly Rose Foundation found that 61 percent of Australian children aged 12 to 15 years who previously held accounts on restricted social media platforms continued to have access to one or more active accounts, despite the country's ban.

For nearly two years, the MP has campaigned for stronger action against harmful and illegal content on social media platforms.

Her work followed research by the University of Bath, led by Professor Chris Pudney, which found that 16.6 percent of vapes confiscated in schools contained the highly dangerous synthetic drug Spice, with vapes available through Snapchat, and dealers openly advertising products.

The Bath MP said platforms cannot be trusted to regulate themselves and greater enforcement of existing laws must accompany any efforts to protect children online. Despite having the powers to hold platforms to account, Ofcom has failed to take meaningful action, leaving children exposed to serious risk.

She warned that a blanket ban for under-16s would do little to address the underlying business models and algorithms that enable harmful content to flourish, allowing social media companies to continue profiting at the expense of children and adults.

In a statement after the announcement, chair of Molly Rose Foundation, Ian Russell, said: “Parents are rightly demanding bold action on children’s safety and after years of delays and timidity, it’s understandable we feel let down by the unacceptably slow pace of change.

“Bans are the wrong answer to a vital question. They risk unintended consequences that could leave children at greater risk of harm by treating the symptoms, not the problem.

“They let social media platforms off the hook by weakening the requirement for them to offer safe and high-quality experiences as a precondition for operating in the UK.

“Instead of listening to populist and simplistic calls for bans, the Prime Minister must do what his party promised and strengthen the Online Safety Act, relying on evidence on what’s best for children rather than well-intentioned experiments.”