Leading doctors have written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging him to press ahead with a social media ban for children under the age of 16.
The intervention comes as the government prepares to announce some of the toughest child online safety measures in the world, following a consultation that attracted more than 80,000 submissions.
Ministers are expected to respond within weeks, with three potential options on the table covering varying degrees of restriction and enforcement.
In their letter, the doctors warned ministers not to mistake early attempts by children to bypass restrictions as evidence that such policies do not work.
“Our message is straightforward: do not misunderstand commercially motivated heel-dragging as a policy failure,” they wrote, placing responsibility for enforcement firmly on technology companies rather than children.
“Legislate with force and hold these companies to account, and you will improve the lives of millions of children,” the doctors added, calling on the government to resist pressure to dilute planned reforms.
Starmer has already signalled that significant change is coming, meeting with campaigners and parents who say their children suffered harm linked to social media use.
“The message to the tech companies was very simple,” he said. “Things are going to change.”
The three options under consideration include an outright ban on social media access for under-16s, restrictions on specific features such as autoplay, algorithms and infinite scrolling, or a combination of both approaches backed by stricter age-verification requirements.
Former health secretary Wes Streeting has backed an outright ban, arguing that politicians and regulators have been “asleep at the wheel” while social media companies developed increasingly addictive products aimed at young users.
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has also supported tougher restrictions, arguing that platforms should have to prove their services are safe before younger users are granted access.
Police leaders have previously argued that governments should focus on high-risk functionalities rather than individual apps, while tech industry groups have warned against broad restrictions that could limit access to educational content.
Labour MP Feryal Clark, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Digital Creators, urged policymakers to distinguish between social networking platforms and creator-led video services.
“High-quality, creator-led video content is a valuable resource; it isn’t social media. That difference is crucial,” Clark said.
More than 113,000 people have signed a national petition calling for social media access to be restricted until the age of 16, reflecting the scale of public concern.
Smartphone Free Childhood says more than 250,000 parents contacted MPs earlier this year demanding stronger online protections, with the campaign now claiming support from more than 500,000 families.
Co-founder Daisy Greenwell argued that responsibility must sit with the companies designing and profiting from the platforms young people use.
“Until they can show their products are safe for children, they shouldn’t have access to them,” Greenwell said.
The government consultation closed last month, with ministers expected to publish their conclusions later this summer.