Jun 15, 2026 · 46 min · 8 segments
Australia did it first. Now the UK has followed. With a ban on social media for under-16s announced by Keir Starmer, the debate is growing over whether Ireland and the EU could be next. At the same…
Gavan ReillyHost
Liz CarolanGuest
Elaine LoughlinGuestConal ThomasGuestSocial media is making children unhappy.
It's making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them.
And it could even be harming their mental health, exposing them to content that is dangerous, because that's what grabs the attention.
Joining us tonight to discuss that and more are tech and democracy journalist with The Briefing.ie, Liz Carlin, political editor with the Irish Examiner, Elaine Loughlin, and political correspondent with the Irish Independent, Conal Thomas.
You can scan the QR code that's on your screen right now and you can get in touch with us via WhatsApp.
How exactly is the UK proposing to ban under-16s? What exactly are they doing to try and get people off those apps?
yeah so the the uk have spent the last decade trying to build out um a set of you know legally enforceable rules on tech platforms for how to make the platforms better for everyone but then also specifically for under 18s now i'm not going to say it's out of nowhere but kind of out of nowhere and they've introduced this policy without a whole lot of detail from what we understand an undisclosed list of social media apps will have to ban under-16s from using the platform.
But they're also talking about having a curfew where the apps will stop working for people maybe a little bit older than that at 10 o'clock.
So 16 or 17-year-olds would be allowed to be on those apps, but they basically shut down as soon as Big Ben strikes on the news.
Yeah, yeah.
Bad news for people who might have to tune into this programme on the other side of the border instead.
Is that to say that they were talking about still allowing people to use the apps but trying to do it in a more safe or constructive or holistic way and now they've just decided not to bother?
Well, so social media regulation, there's kind of a reason it's taken us so long.
And so the laws as they stand in the UK have specific requirements for making sure that under 18s aren't seeing or aren't pushed particular types of content, say, around eating disorders or around self-harm, things like that.
And experts who think quite a lot about this will say it's not working quite well because you haven't dealt with the underlying problem, which is the algorithmic design and the overall structure of the apps.
But there's been a lot of pressure on political figures also here in Ireland by parents and by people who kind of represent and work with parents and by teachers to do something because it feels like we're kind of in a bit of a crisis mode.
The lever that I think people are hoping to pull is just something that will just stop it.
Social media is making children unhappy.
It's making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them.
And it could even be harming their mental health, exposing them to content that is dangerous, because that's what grabs the attention.
Joining us tonight to discuss that and more are tech and democracy journalist with The Briefing.ie, Liz Carlin, political editor with the Irish Examiner, Elaine Loughlin, and political correspondent with the Irish Independent, Conal Thomas.
You can scan the QR code that's on your screen right now and you can get in touch with us via WhatsApp.
How exactly is the UK proposing to ban under-16s? What exactly are they doing to try and get people off those apps?
yeah so the the uk have spent the last decade trying to build out um a set of you know legally enforceable rules on tech platforms for how to make the platforms better for everyone but then also specifically for under 18s now i'm not going to say it's out of nowhere but kind of out of nowhere and they've introduced this policy without a whole lot of detail from what we understand an undisclosed list of social media apps will have to ban under-16s from using the platform.
But they're also talking about having a curfew where the apps will stop working for people maybe a little bit older than that at 10 o'clock.
So 16 or 17-year-olds would be allowed to be on those apps, but they basically shut down as soon as Big Ben strikes on the news.
Yeah, yeah.
Bad news for people who might have to tune into this programme on the other side of the border instead.
Is that to say that they were talking about still allowing people to use the apps but trying to do it in a more safe or constructive or holistic way and now they've just decided not to bother?
Well, so social media regulation, there's kind of a reason it's taken us so long.
And so the laws as they stand in the UK have specific requirements for making sure that under 18s aren't seeing or aren't pushed particular types of content, say, around eating disorders or around self-harm, things like that.
And experts who think quite a lot about this will say it's not working quite well because you haven't dealt with the underlying problem, which is the algorithmic design and the overall structure of the apps.
But there's been a lot of pressure on political figures also here in Ireland by parents and by people who kind of represent and work with parents and by teachers to do something because it feels like we're kind of in a bit of a crisis mode.
The lever that I think people are hoping to pull is just something that will just stop it.
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