Britain’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has announced a social media ban for under-16s as part of an online safety campaign that aims to go further than a world-first ban imposed by Australia last year. Many parents have welcomed the proposals, but scientists have pointed to the lack of strong evidence for the effectiveness of the restrictions, and some campaigners have argued that the proposals allow social media companies to avoid making meaningful changes to their platforms. Ian Sample is joined by co-host Madeleine Finlay to explore what the evidence indicates about the harms of social media and the impact of banning it altogether.
