Speeches by Sewards.

“That is fine, we have got Snapchat next so we can ask them.”

“Finally, and very briefly from me, have your members identified any specific social media platforms that are causing more harm than others?”

“All I will say is that I hope when or if such a ban comes into force in the UK, you will comply with it fully and make every effort to get every child under the age of 16 off your platform. Darren has a question to follow up on this.”

“Thank you very much. Esther, thank you so much for your evidence and for coming to the Committee; we really appreciate it. You have specifically campaigned for age restrictions on social media to protect children from online harm. How do you think an age restriction would help? What are your thoughts on the concerns th…”

“One of the reasons why I think people are finding it difficult to enforce, at least at first, is that your organisation has been accused of malign compliance with the law in Australia. We have heard evidence that your organisation is not doing anything to get young people below the age of 16 off Snapchat; in fact, we k…”

“That is fine, we have got Snapchat next so we can ask them.”

“What would each of you assess is the impact of screentime on how students interact with each other in all settings, but also how they interact with your staff?”

“Thank you. Tom or Daniel, do you have a point on this?”

“Thank you both for your answers. I really appreciate it.”

“One of the reasons why I think people are finding it difficult to enforce, at least at first, is that your organisation has been accused of malign compliance with the law in Australia. We have heard evidence that your organisation is not doing anything to get young people below the age of 16 off Snapchat; in fact, we k…”

“I appreciate that you have rejected or pushed back on many of the statistics and pieces of evidence we have used in our questioning, but Australia’s eSafety Commissioner published a report that found that, prior to 10 December 2025, nearly 70% of all parents were reporting that their children were still on the platform…”

“Understood. And Darren?”

“Finally, and very briefly from me, have your members identified any specific social media platforms that are causing more harm than others?”

“That is fine, we have got Snapchat next so we can ask them.”

“What would each of you assess is the impact of screentime on how students interact with each other in all settings, but also how they interact with your staff?”

“Thank you all for your answers.”

“I was going to come to this question later, but it follows on beautifully from there, so I will ask it now. As a former maths teacher—I declare that I was a member of Daniel’s union and Darren’s union—I found some of the homework platforms incredibly useful. We have talked about harmful algorithms this morning. I can t…”

“To push that point, what specifically do you want to see in place of a ban? A ban is pretty clear and unambiguous. If, as you say, tech companies are subverting it in Australia, despite it being clear and specific, they will surely just subvert your suggestions.”

“Understood. And Darren?”

“Finally, and very briefly from me, have your members identified any specific social media platforms that are causing more harm than others?”