Disability activists have warned that banning under-16s from social media could cut off a "lifeline for friendship" for disabled children, potentially pushing them into social isolation by preventing them from making connections online.
Concerns Over Blanket Ban
Charities and high-profile figures in disability advocacy expressed concern that a blanket ban on social media would disproportionately affect teenagers who may not be able to meet people easily in real life or find peers with similar conditions.
Lucy Edwards, a blind broadcaster, author and disability activist, said she was pleased to see the government taking online safety seriously but believed a social media ban would have serious unintended consequences.
"I got 99.9% of my support via the internet as a young visually impaired girl," she said. "I was 11 and I didn't know anyone in my real life who was blind, so naturally I took to social media. I would talk to friends on the other side of the planet – I can't emphasise enough that no one I was friends with [in person] understood my vision loss like my friends online."
She said the ban would prevent teenagers from discovering voices and influencers with similar sight impairments or disabilities who could become positive role models.
"If you block young visually impaired people from social media, you are restricting them from finding the independence they might not know they can have," she added.
Government Announcement
On Monday, Keir Starmer announced plans to ban all major social media platforms for under-16s, including Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, as well as blocking livestreaming functions. He acknowledged the policy was not "cost-free" and that social media had benefits for young people, but said a "total ban is the right choice."
Dr Shani Dhanda, a broadcaster, author and accessibility consultant with brittle bone disease, described social media platforms as a "lifeline for friendship, support and connection" for many young disabled people. "The focus should be on making platforms safer, not cutting young people off from communities they rely on to participate in society," she said.
The Royal Society for Blind Children said it was actively working to counter the ban by expanding its own online clubs and groups. The charity supported better age-appropriate protections on social media but warned that a ban risked "cutting off vital routes to connection for children who are already too often excluded."
Lily Rose, the charity's chief operating officer, said: "You might be the only young person in your school or for miles around who is experiencing vision impairment, and social media might be your only way of finding communities you can relate to. So we're already looking at how we can bridge that gap when the ban comes into effect."
Expert Views
Dr Amit Patel, a former trauma doctor turned disability rights campaigner who lost his sight in 2013, said he understood the need to keep children safe online but thought the ban risked "oversimplifying a complex issue."
"Many disabled young people already face barriers to socialising and participating in their communities," he said. "For them, social media is often far more than entertainment. It can be a lifeline that provides friendship, peer support, role models and a sense of belonging that may not always be available offline. Any policy in this area needs to consider the unintended consequences for groups who already experience exclusion and isolation."
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has been contacted for comment.
