Welsh Conservatives are calling on the Welsh Labour Government to back a social media ban for under 16s.

The party says that children are now spending record amounts of time online, exposed to violence, pornography and extremist content, with experts warning this is contributing to deteriorating mental health, poor sleep, isolation,bullying and knock-on effects for learning and behaviour.

The Leader of the Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, announced the next Conservative Government will introduce age restrictions on social media for those under 16 years of age to help parents keep children safe from the dangers of the online world.

In the Senedd next week, the Welsh Conservatives will bring forward a motion calling on the Welsh Labour Government to follow suit and support our calls to restrict social media for under 16s.

Commenting ahead of the debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Natasha Asghar MS, said: “Social media is having a profoundly harmful impact on children’s mental health, behaviour and capacity to learn.We now see young people spending unprecedented amounts of time online, often exposed to violent, sexual and extremist content with inadequate safeguards and regulation.

“Other countries have begun to act. Australia introduced restrictions on social media use for under-16s in late 2025, and early indications suggest reduced screen time, lowered exposure to cyberbullying, gave children the chance to focus at school and created more opportunities for children to spend time offline with friends and family. Of course, the full effects will become clearer over time.

“The Welsh Conservatives are clear about our priorities: raising education standards and protecting children. By restricting social media access for under-16s, we can help restore focus in the classroom, improve behaviour and, most importantly, better safeguard vulnerable young people across Wales from the very real harms associated with social media.”

Senedd Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Samuel Kurtz said: “Social media and under-16s: to be banned or not to be banned?

“Ever since the Australian government pressed ahead with its policy, the conversation has only grown louder and rightly so.

“What does social media actually do to our children? What are they accessing, and what are they seeing, hearing and absorbing on a daily basis? And do the benefits really outweigh the risks?

“That debate has now firmly landed here in the UK thanks to Kemi Badenoch who put political weight behind the idea of a ban. So much so that a group of Labour MPs have backed the proposal, and the House of Lords even voted in favour of it.

“Children are ‘like sponges’ will often be said, soaking up everything around them, both good and bad. If we truly believe that, then surely it matters what we allow to capture their attention and fill their minds during those formative years.

“Of course, there will be those who say, ‘But what about the benefits? Staying in touch with friends, access to information, learning new things’.

“And yes, that’s valid, to a degree. But here’s the key point for me: social media platforms are not neutral spaces designed for learning or healthy development. They are designed to maximise engagement, clicks and reactions.

“They force you to compare yourself to others and trigger emotional reactions often at the expense of wellbeing.

“Expecting children to navigate that online environment responsibly, while their brains are still developing, feels to me like a dereliction of duty by us adults, rather than a celebration of freedom.

“So I say, let children be children! Get them off social media, not to punish them but to instead help them build real resilience in the real world.”

Ahead of last month’s parliamentary vote on whether Britain should restrict children’s access to social media, Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch said: “British children spend almost three hours a day online, with 70 per cent of them seeing videos of real-life violence.

“It's become increasingly clear that violence, pornography and extremist content is leading to deteriorating mental health, poor sleep and isolation – with knock-on effects for learning and behaviour.

“That's why, the Conservative Party became the first political party in Britain to back a ban.”

The motion which will be debated reads: To propose that the Senedd: Calls on the UK Government to restrict access to social media for children under 16.