The Children’s Media Summit ’26: Ban or Build Better?
What will the proposed ban on social media for under 16s mean in practice? Is there a way of building a better, safer, and more nourishing media world for children without limiting their rights? CMF Executive Committee Chair and Board member Alison Stewart reports on the opening session of the Children’s Media Summit 2026.
Discussion Moderator
Emma Scott Chair, NSPCC
Research presentation
Dr Ashley Woodfall Associate Professor of Children’s Media, Bournemouth University.
Panelists:
Matthew Burton Head Teacher, Thornhill Community Academy
Jiella Esmat Founder & CEO, 8 Lions
Guy Holder Co-founder, Set@16
Professor Sonia Livingstone Director, Digital Futures for Children
Chris Sherwood CEO, NSPCC
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE SESSION:
- The majority of panellists were against a blanket ban as platforms are used so differently.
- All panellists are in favour of government legislation so that tech platforms are forced to be transparent about addictive algorithmic processes and to strengthen age verification systems.
- Panellists call on government to ban the use of mobile phones in schools. Parents need simpler ways to input parental preferences – preferably on a single system for all platforms and devices.
- What do children want? Of 70,000 kids surveyed, 86% are against the ban. But they understand the need to protect themselves from online hate and bullying and they want control over algorithmic feeds.
WHY DOES IT MATTER THAT CHILDREN ARE GETTING LESS “QUALITY” CONTENT ON PLATFORMS THEY ENGAGE WITH?
Dr Sonia Livingstone said that personalisation is damaging children and a more collective culture should be an aim. Mental Health issues are widely discussed, and while social media can amplify issues, it can also support children who use it to seek help. Children do want change but we must recognise their diversity and their different needs.
Matt Burton said that children do care about their futures – they don’t want 4 hours a day of screen time but don’t know what to replace it with.
Chris Sherwood commented on the massive rise in evidence of sexual abuse on social media – we need bold action from the government to keep kids safe online as the tech companies don’t want to talk about their models.
Guy Holder said we are in a public health emergency and under 16’s should not have smartphones.
Jiella Esmat said the situation is very nuanced – YouTube is very different from Tik Tok and Snapchat. YouTube can be wonderful and be the gateway to kids’ creativity but she bemoaned the zero transparency on the algorithmic processes.
BAN OR NO BAN?
Panellists asked what would be banned? How would it be regulated? We need to recognise the differences in how platforms operate.
If we ban all social media for children, what will they do instead? Youth provision in the community is scarce and young people have nowhere to go in their free time.
Others worried that a ban wouldn’t go far enough and that safeguarding is paramount. Legislation is essential to ensure a regulated age restriction on all platforms.
There was also a call for regulation of AI tech as panellists see significant dangers in an AI embedded world of the future
RESET – HOW CAN WE FOCUS ON BUILDING BETTER MEDIA LIVES FOR CHILDREN AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?
“Everyone around the telly” viewing is a thing of the past. There is good quality content on YouTube but stricter age verification systems are essential on all platforms. (Chris Sherwood suggested a classification system similar to film classification for children’s use of social media platforms.)
Content makers should keep child development in mind – kids like creativity, stimulation of imagination and talkability.
Quality needs to be defined in an evidence-based way and that content needs to be made discoverable.
WHAT NEXT?
The government need to be brave and go beyond a ban and take on the tech companies to ensure transparency and stricter age verification.
A regulator for AI tech is needed.
All panellists agreed that clear regulation is needed to ban the use of phones in schools.
There was also a call for an IP based tool where parental preferences could be entered for all platforms and devices.
Panellists also called for strengthened media literacy training in schools and for parents, especially around news provision.
We do need to recognise that platforms are different – a blanket ban would not be helpful.
We should listen to children – safeguarding their needs is paramount but we also need to consider what they will lose in terms of their wellbeing and their interests if they have no access to online platforms.
Watch the full session here:
Children’s Media Summit ’26 Opening Speech The Children’s Media Summit ’26: Value Judgement