I watched Esther Ghey and Ellen Roome on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg with a profound mix of sympathy and unease. Both bereaved mothers spoke with devastating clarity about the deaths of their respective children, Brianna and Jools, and their belief that social media worsened their suffering.

Brianna was murdered in a park in Warrington in 2023, one of the two perpetrators having watched violent material online; when Jools died at home in 2022, his mother blamed his death on a social media challenge going wrong. Their grief is undeniable and their anger at the platforms palpable. To be clear, this is not a culture war sideshow but a public health problem.

Last week, the House of Lords passed an amendment backing a ban on social media for under-16s, inspired in part by Australia’s high-profile ban in December. The two mothers are among a group of bereaved parents heading to Delaware to sue TikTok, accusing it of helping create the conditions in which their children died.

It feels urgent and significant. However, as a teacher who sees........

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