Islands urged to 'take time' over social media ban

A former data protection chief has urged Channel Island leaders to take time to fully understand the risks facing children online before following the UK's planned social media ban for under-16s.

Emma Martins, a data and ethics expert and former commissioner in the islands, said she was "very, very happy indeed that we're talking about it and prioritising it" because it was "long overdue" as debate grows over tighter rules.

Her comments come after the UK announced plans to introduce a ban from next spring, with politicians in Guernsey and Jersey watching closely.

Martins said the issue had quickly become polarising but warned there was no quick fix.

She explained governments needed to "take the time... to understand the realities of the risks for our own children here and consider what may work best for our own community".

She said the dangers were real, adding that "there are technologies, there are platforms that are profoundly unsafe and that risk is real for all of us".

Raising concerns about how a ban could work in practise, she said there were major questions about data collection and age verification. "Short answer, yes," she said when asked if it posed a risk, adding that "any data collection matters, particularly when it relates to children".

Martins also questioned how much trust could be placed in big tech firms, saying, "I'm afraid that I'm very sceptical about the claims that these big tech companies make that they care about children".

On schools, she said smartphones were "a distraction" and not good for pupils or teachers, while stressing that bans alone would not solve the wider problem but were "an important part of the jigsaw".

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