Molly Russell's dad says PM rushing social media restrictions 'deplorable'

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Laura KuenssbergSunday with Laura Kuenssberg

The father of a teenager who took her own life after viewing harmful content online has said he is "dismayed" by reports the government is to ban young people from using some social media platforms.

Ian Russell has campaigned for better online protections since his daughter Molly died aged 14. But he has said "sledgehammer techniques like bans" would only cause more problems.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce a crackdown on children's access to social media next week. Russell told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that the process had been "rushed" for political reasons, which he called "deplorable."

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "We have undertaken a thorough consultation and will set out next steps in due course."

They added: "The prime minister has been clear that the status quo is not good enough and we need to do more to protect children.

"This is not about politics - it is about protecting children."

Ahead of the expected announcement, ministers have examined a variety of options for restrictions. They include a blanket ban on under-16s accessing social media as has been introduced in Australia.

The details have not been made public. But some media reports have suggested under-16s could banned from accessing "high-risk" social media platforms, while safer ones would be subjected to restrictions.

Speaking exclusively to BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, he said he would be "dismayed" should the announcement include such restrictions.

"In opposition, Keir Starmer promised to tighten up the online safety world by regulating better," he said.

"Early last year, father to father, I met with him briefly and he was very concerned - and he promised me he would look into effective solutions to deal with this problem.

"But as we sit here on the verge of this announcement, it seems that he's not kept either of those promises."

He said the prime minister had "promised a group of bereaved parents" an announcement could be expected by the summer recess, which falls in mid-July, "so he's rushed that forward for some reason".

"I can't think of a reason other than a political reason... if he's playing politics, what he's doing is gambling with young people's lives - and I find that deplorable."

Family handout

An inquest found social media content contributed "more than minimally" to Molly' Russell's death in 2017

Russell also shared new research conducted on behalf of his suicide prevention charity, the Molly Rose Foundation, which indicated 47% of girls saw high-risk harmful content on social media in a week.

The survey of 1,825 children across the UK suggested a third of teenagers aged 13-17 saw high-risk suicide, self-harm and eating disorder content in the same period.

It also indicated only slightly fewer children were seeing harmful content following the introduction of the Online Safety Act - at 34% down from 37%.

The act was passed in 2023 and was meant to ensure children did not view illegal or certain kinds of harmful content online, with rules for social media companies enforced by Ofcom.

However, campaign groups including the Molly Rose Foundation have criticised the media regulator's enforcement of the rules.

Russell told the BBC: "We found that in the first year of implementing the production of children measures, Ofcom the regulator have effectively achieved nothing much at all."

"It's really frustrating because we've been saying... Ofcom have been too timid, Ofcom need to do more, the gaps in the Online Safety Act need to be plugged, something needs to change.

"Very sadly and tragically, we seem to have been proved right."

In a statement, Ofcom said it had driven "some of the strongest changes of any online safety regulation in the world".

It said it had brought in age checks and grooming protections for children, as well as investigations into more 100 sites and apps, and fines totalling £5m.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: "The job is far from done and we share Ian's concerns that tech firms have not done nearly enough to reassure parents that they are putting children's safety first. We've made clear that companies need to go much further, including taking swift action to make their feeds safer for children."

Meanwhile, the government has announced a funding boost for after-school clubs which it said would help children "beat isolation online and build connections in the real world".

The £132.5m programme will fund activities such as music groups and sports clubs, it added.

The Department for Education said the fund was a direct response to a survey of 14,000 young people which found that "despite being the most digitally connected generation, young people today face some of the highest levels of isolation globally".

See the full interview with Ian Russell on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on BBC One at 09:00 BST on Sunday