Teenagers under 16 could be banned from social media services such as Instagram under laws proposed by Conservatives. They want legislation preventing social media companies from using personal information from anybody under the age of 16, up from 13 at the moment. It would prevent people making a social media account or providing firms with personal details.

Some services such as Instagram currently require an account to view material while almost every social media service bans people from posting without an account. Because it comes from the shadow cabinet it is likely to be chosen by the Speaker for a vote in Parliament.

The change would come in an amendment to the Government’s Data Bill, to be debated next week, proposed by Shadow Science and Technology Secretary Alan Mak. In addition, Tories want laws to ensure social media firms carry out tougher checks to ensure users are giving their real age.

Polling by More in Common found 75% of British adults support raising the minimum age to 16 for social media. That includes 71% of people aged 18 to 26, the so-called Generation Z.

And younger people have serious concern about the impact of social media on their lives, the survey found. Almost two thirds of Gen Z said social media does more harm than good, half of them said they wished they’d spent less time on their phones growing up, and 78 per cent said if they were a parent they would try to delay their child using social media for as long as possible, the survey found.

Responding to the findings, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “This research demonstrates that there is widespread support for greater regulation on social media access. Parents, and even young people themselves, are crying out for steps to be taken to better regulate content.”

He added: “For too long the power of social media giants has gone unchecked. They have manufactured vast digital empires built upon a model that feeds young people addictive content, whether it is appropriate or not, to keep them on their platforms for as long as possible. They have proven they cannot be trusted to self-regulate, ignoring widespread concerns about harmful content, and even announcing that they will no longer fact-check content.”

Concern about social media has also been prompted by the drama Adolescence, which presented a fictional story of a 13-year-old boy who commits murder after being bullied online. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer invited the show’s creators to meet him in Number 10 to discuss the story.