The incoming ban on social media for under-16s will not be enough on its own to tackle youth violence, London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has warned.
Speaking during a visit to Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground in Enfield, the mayor welcomed the Government’s decision to block children under 16 from accessing platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram from next year. However, he said the restrictions must be backed by education, mentoring and positive opportunities for young people.
Sir Sadiq has long supported tighter controls on children’s access to social media, arguing that smartphones and online algorithms expose young people to harmful content at an increasingly early age. He said: “In addition to the social media ban, we’ve got to be teaching young people how to critically think for themselves, how to test the veracity of what’s on social media, how to challenge what’s on it, but also explain the consequences of their actions.
“That sense of empathy, being a good citizen, is incredibly important.”
The mayor said young people were being “bombarded” with harmful material online and claimed social media algorithms often rewarded negative content over positive messages. He added: “It’s a combination of making sure young people are not exploited on social media, but also giving them other skills so they can be good active citizens.”
His comments came as City Hall announced an additional £1.5 million investment through London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) to fund activities for young people during the summer holidays.
The programme, delivered in partnership with the Premier League and the charitable foundations of 11 professional London football clubs, will provide football sessions, mentoring, arts, cultural activities and employability support.
Sir Sadiq said school holidays were a period when many young people became more vulnerable to exploitation and crime. “I want London to be the safest and best place to grow up for a young person anywhere in the world,” he said.
He added that City Hall had already invested more than £100 million in youth programmes, created 550,000 positive opportunities for young Londoners and supported 130,000 young people through mentoring initiatives.
Violence Reduction Unit director Lib Peck said schools often provide structure and protection for vulnerable children, something that disappears during the holidays. Alex White, chief executive of the Premier League Foundation, said football could act as a gateway to wider support. He said club badges helped attract young people, but the programme extended far beyond sport by connecting them with trusted adults and new opportunities.
The mayor also welcomed the Government’s plans to hand greater responsibility for post-16 education to metro mayors through recent devolution proposals.
He said giving local leaders more control would help reduce the number of young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) because local authorities understood the needs of their communities better than central government.
“We’ve got a real opportunity now to really support young people who are not in employment, education and training,” Sir Sadiq said.
