Ards and North Down Borough Council has become the first council in Northern Ireland to support a campaign demanding that children be at least 16 years old before accessing social media.

Rosalind McClean, a Donaghadee mother and Northern Ireland regional leader for the Smartphone Free Childhood movement, delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street urging the government to set the new age limit.

The petition asks ministers to use a current consultation to require social media companies to prove their platforms are safe and age-appropriate before under-16s can access them.

McClean said policy has not kept pace with technological change, and that families in Northern Ireland are tired of seeing children harmed by addictive and toxic platforms. She added that parents, doctors and schools all see the damage being done.

The campaign is also encouraging community action. Local families are forming groups to delay giving children smartphones until at least 14, and to hold off on social media until they turn 16, so that no child is left feeling isolated by not having access.

The council’s backing reinforces the message that urgent government action is needed to protect children before they reach 16.