00:00The mother of murdered teenager Brianna Jai has urged the government to go further on restricting young people's access to
00:06social media.
00:07Esther Jai told MPs the UK can learn from Australia's ban on under-16s, but should aim to make any
00:13rules more effective.
00:14Ministers say new restrictions are on the way as concerns grow about the impact of online platforms on children.
00:20Esther Jai says her daughter's experience reflects a wider problem facing young people across the UK.
00:26Giving evidence to MPs, she described how she and Brianna were constantly battling over phone use and social media,
00:33saying stronger age limits could help parents regain control.
00:37Her comments come as the government prepares to introduce what it calls age or functionality restrictions on social media for
00:44under-16s.
00:45Ms Jai pointed to Australia's recent ban as a useful example, but not a perfect one.
00:50Polling there suggests three in five children aged 12 to 15 still have access to restricted accounts, highlighting challenges with
00:58enforcement.
00:59So I monitor what my daughter's on.
01:04I did do it with my son, but he's like a whole other level.
01:10But I do monitor what my daughter's on.
01:13It was all right when the lockdown was on.
01:15Oh yeah, everyone can use it.
01:16She knows what to go on and what not to go on, so she is quite savvy in that respect.
01:21She is quite on it.
01:24Social media, it's marmite for me.
01:28You either love it or hate it, because you can get so much out of it, or you can be
01:34very miserable with it.
01:37Ms Jai told the Education Select Committee the UK should not delay on action, but instead learn lessons and do
01:43a better job building on that experience.
01:47The session heard wider concerns about the impact of social media on children's well-being.
01:52Ms Jai said Brianna struggled with mental health linked to smartphone and social media use,
01:56and argued that school policies requiring phones to be kept out of sight are ineffective.
02:01The National Education Union said young people are spending around 35 hours a week on social media,
02:08warning that exposure to extreme and harmful content is shaping behaviour and attitudes.
02:12Campaigners also highlighted risks from algorithms.
02:16Andy Burrows of the Molly Rose Foundation said harmful material, including content promoting suicide,
02:21had been recommended to 14-year-old Molly Russell before her death.
02:25Social media companies defended their approach.
02:27Snapchat says that it includes safeguards such as friend-only contact, warning messages and tools to detect illegal content,
02:35though acknowledged the platform relies on users reporting harmful behaviour.
02:39Ministers insist action is coming.
02:41Education Minister Olivia Bailey said measures to tackle harm will be introduced regardless of consultation outcomes,
02:48whilst Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said any new rules must stand the test of time.
02:53For families and campaigners, the focus now is on whether those measures will be strong enough to make a lasting
02:58difference.
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