Cheryl and Lauren Cowell are among the stars who are campaigning for the UK government to raise the age of consent for social media users to 16.
Cheryl has made a rare return to the spotlight to campaign for the UK government to raise the age of consent for social media users to 16.
The 42-year-old singer has eight-year-old son Bear with late One Direction star Liam Payne – who died in 2024, aged 31 – and she is backing the Raise The Age campaign, because she is against “addictive, emotionally destroying and mentally damaging platforms” for those under 16.
Speaking in a video shared on her Instagram Stories, she said: “I back this campaign a million per cent, and I cannot see a reasonable argument for the opposite.
“I do not believe our youth need to be subjected to such addictive, emotionally destroying and mentally damaging platforms.
“Our youth are already vulnerable, and some are even going to the extremes of taking their own lives.
“That should be enough.
“You can see the damage that’s happening without much benefit.”
Cheryl urged other Britons to go to their local MP and say: “I vote for this to go through.”
She added: “It’s for our government to stand up and do the right thing to protect our youth.
“They’ll thank us in the future.”
Cheryl’s plea comes ahead of a House of Commons vote on a potential social media ban for under 16s.
Several other celebrities have also urged the government to increase the age of consent for social media users in the UK.
Simon Cowell’s wife, Lauren Cowell, has previously admitted she doesn’t allow their 12-year-old son Eric to have a phone, and she has now encouraged the British public to be “on the right side of history”.
She wrote on Instagram: “Tomorrow is the moment of truth.
“After multiple rounds between the Lords and the Commons, we are running out of time to get this over the line.
“We are campaigning to raise the social media age to 16 to protect children from platforms designed to be addictive and proven to harm mental health and in some cases, cost young lives.
“This is our generation’s Big Tobacco moment, a chance to be on the right side of history.
“If you do one thing today, make it this: Click the link in my bio and write to your MP. It takes less than 2 minutes.
“Then share this. Send it to friends, family, group chats, anyone who cares about protecting children.
“This only works if we all act now @raisetheageuk”
Singers Rochelle Humes and Megan McKenna have also backed the campaign.
Cheryl backs campaign to ban social media for under 16s
