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The government consultation on children’s use of digital technology risks shifting blame on to schools rather than tech companies, school leaders have warned.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) says tech companies must be “properly held to account” for the negative impact of social media on children, and warns against the “misapprehension” that a blanket social media ban for under-16s provides a straightforward solution.

“School leaders see first-hand the harm that social media platforms can cause to children’s wellbeing, and it is long overdue that technology platforms and products are regulated for safety in the way that other sectors already are,” said Margaret Mulholland, ASCL’s specialist for inclusion and special educational needs and disabilities.

ASCL says in its that the emphasis of the consultation, which is titled “Growing up in the online world”, suggests that schools and families hold responsibility for “regulating the attention economy, rather than the technology firms”.

The , run by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, closed last night, following the government’s decision to introduce a “statutory ban” on phones in schools in April.

In response to the consultation, the Commons Education Select Committee called for a statutory ban on social media for under-16s, with chair Helen Hayes saying young people “face a deluge of serious harms whenever they log on to social media.”

Stronger regulation and enforcement

ASCL says age‑based social media bans may now be “necessary” but cautions against the “misapprehension that a blanket ban on social media for under-16s and banning smartphones in schools will solve the problem”.

The union instead calls for stronger regulation and enforcement of “product safety” and says the responsibility for any effects of products on children and families should lie with technology firms.

Oversight of online harm should be the job of the children’s commissioner or a new independent regulator, ASCL says, and schools should be provided with funding to implement policies preventing the use of phones.

The union says establishing this oversight would prevent schools being left with the “policing burden”, and that it would be more relaxed about children using social media if technology companies were made to take greater responsibility.

Ms Mulholland said: “In a world where technology companies are properly held to account, ASCL would support an approach in which children and young people and their families have access to education which supports safe use of social media.”

‘The Wild West of social media’

Ms Mulholland said that an age-based ban on social media may be necessary “in the absence of effective government regulation”. However, creating a “cliff edge” at age 16 presents its own risks, she added, because young people would immediately at that age gain access to the “Wild West of unregulated social media”.

ASCL is “paying close attention” to the effects of social media bans in other countries. However, it suggests that the ban in Australia has not so far provided the intended level of protection, as “significant numbers of young people” are still getting hold of content that should be out of their reach.

The union also warns that the “monetisation” of children is a “serious societal issue”, with school leaders seeing “deep fakes” and “sextortion” become increasingly common.

ASCL’s response comes just one day after the NAHT school leaders’ union said that a social media ban for under-16s was “no panacea”.

The NAHT said that a proposed ban “must be considered alongside a wider package of measures”.

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