The Commission welcomes the Government’s focus on social media, but more action needed in schools.
The Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools is pleased that the Government is engaging head-on with the impact of social media on young lives, their families and schools.
From our recent focus groups with parents, we know that many find navigating their children’s use of social media enormously challenging. Increasingly, parents feel that social media plays an overbearing role on family life, and many report a deep sense of powerlessness.
“If I take his phone off him, it’s like World War III in this house literally.”
Female, social group B, primary and secondary school parent
“I have to take his phone off him because otherwise I know he will be on it until midnight or one o’clock in the morning, when he’s got school [the next day]. So that’s a constant battle, constant battle.”
Female, social group C1, secondary school parent
“A kid in Year 8 had taken a photo of my daughter, who’s in Year 11, and then used an AI tool to make a video of her, which was inappropriate. But then he’d sent it around his mates”.
Male, social group C1, secondary school parent
However, whilst the Government’s move to ban social media for under-16s is likely to have positive implications for some children, this will not end the spread of online conspiracy belief, misinformation and disinformation online. Indeed, we are concerned that the ban risks creating a cliff-edge at 16, leaving young people perhaps even more vulnerable.
The Commission’s 2026 Research Insights identified a step-change in the spread of online conspiracy belief, misinformation and disinformation since our 2025 launch report – 85 per cent of school staff, 78 per cent of parents and 71 per cent of young people said it is harder to tell what is real and fake online.
The social media ban, though welcome, is a reactive policy from Government, and it needs to be coupled with a preventative approach. We must equip schools, teachers and parents with the tools to help young people navigate rising online conspiracy belief, misinformation and disinformation.
“They [schools] teach our children about all the other subjects – maybe some subjects parents don’t want their kids involved in but it’s mandatory. So why isn’t the digital world [taught] as well?”.
Female, social group C2, primary and secondary school parent
“Some kids get more from school than they do at home sadly. So, I do think to protect the kids who haven’t got the best parents or if their parents aren’t [digitally] savvy enough then I think the schools do have a part to play [in educating young people about the online world]”.
Male, social group D, primary and secondary school parent
That is why any ban must be hand-in-hand with the full implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Review. Only then, will we ensure that young people have the media literacy and critical thinking skills to discern fact from fiction in an increasingly complex informational landscape.
Teachers need support, too – and the Centre for Digital Information Literacy in Schools (CDILS) and the Institute of Education at UCL is leading the way, providing practical, hands-on training and resources to those working in school settings.
The Co-Chairs of the Commission, Sir Trevor Pears CMG, Executive Chairman at the Pears Foundation and Sir Mufti Hamid Patel CBE, CEO at Star Academies said:
“We welcome the Government’s determination to confront the impact of social media on children and young people, and recognise that many parents are looking for clearer support. From our focus groups with parents, we know that too often, they feel powerless and exposed to the impact of social media on their children.
“But any proposed ban on its own is unlikely to completely end the harmful spread of online conspiracy belief, misinformation and disinformation. Without a focus on preventative measures too, such as updating the curriculum to reflect our new digital age and supporting teachers to support their students, we risk creating a cliff edge at 16 – potentially leaving many young people vulnerable and exposed.”
