The mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey has made a direct plea to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging him to implement a ban on social media access for all children under the age of 16. Esther Ghey's call adds to mounting political pressure ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote on the issue scheduled for Wednesday.
A Mother's Plea: The Harmful Impact of Online Content
In a detailed letter sent to the Prime Minister on Monday, Esther Ghey explained how she believes harmful online content significantly exacerbated her daughter's mental health struggles. She described how Brianna, from the age of 14, developed an addiction to social media, which coincided with the onset of an eating disorder and self-harm.
"Brianna had a social media addiction and struggled with her mental health from the age of 14," Ghey wrote. "She developed an eating disorder and was self-harming, and all of this was significantly exacerbated by the harmful content she was consuming online."
Ghey recounted constant, fraught conversations with her daughter, who had become determined to achieve fame on TikTok and expressed a desire to become a sex worker. The mother lived in fear of who Brianna might be communicating with online and found that her attempts to monitor phone use through spot checks were futile, as her daughter could easily hide her activity.
Cross-Party Push for Legislative Action
Esther Ghey has joined forces with eight other bereaved families to support an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The proposed change, tabled by Conservative peer Lord John Nash and co-authored by peers including Labour's Luciana Berger, seeks to ban social media use for under-16s within a year of the bill becoming law.
In their collective letter, also copied to Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, the parents state: "We are allowing an entire generation to have their time, attention, and potential consumed by platforms designed to keep them hooked."
Their campaign is gaining significant political traction. The Guardian reported over the weekend that more than 60 Labour MPs, including select committee chairs and former ministers, have written to the Prime Minister urging him to back a ban.
Government Response and Broader Context
The government is expected to publish a consultation this week outlining options for improving child safety online, which may include a potential social media ban. However, it remains unclear if this will satisfy those demanding immediate legislative action.
Prime Minister Starmer has expressed openness to the idea but has noted concerns about practical implementation and the risk of driving some young people towards the darker corners of the internet. "I think we need to do more to protect children," Starmer said at a press conference on Monday. "We’re obviously looking at what’s happened in Australia – something I have discussed with the Australian prime minister." Australia enacted a ban on social media for under-14s in December 2024.
The tragic case of Brianna Ghey, who was murdered in Warrington, Cheshire, in 2023 by two fellow teenagers in a partly transphobic attack, has become a focal point in the national debate on online harms. One of her killers had accessed disturbing content on the dark web, while Brianna herself had been obsessed with social media content related to anorexia and self-harm in the months before her death.
As Wednesday's vote approaches, the government has not yet clarified its position on Lord Nash's amendment or whether it will allow its members a free vote, leaving the outcome hanging in the balance.
