Revolutionary Communist Jack Tye Wilson has shared his shock at the ease with which leftists have accepted the proposed social media ban for under-16s.

Wilson takes aim at Daniel Kebede and the Morning Star, saying he is ‘absolutely gobsmacked‘ that an ‘SWP-aligned‘ trade union leader and a ‘communist‘ paper have backed the proposed ban.

I’m absolutely gobsmacked that a left trade union leader (SWP-aligned) and the Morning Star (a ‘Communist’ paper!) are backing the establishment’s coordinated campaign to push through a social media ban for under-16s.

What world are these people living in? They want the… pic.twitter.com/qYnEeXQK3c

— Jack Tye Wilson ☭ (@bolsh3vik) January 20, 2026

The post reads in full:

I’m absolutely gobsmacked that a left trade union leader (SWP-aligned) and the Morning Star (a ‘Communist’ paper!) are backing the establishment’s coordinated campaign to push through a social media ban for under-16s.

What world are these people living in? They want the granny-snatching, migrant-bashing, prisoner-starving Starmer government to enforce a social media ban for the most radicalised, revolutionary generation in memory?

This is the generation that is organising revolutionary struggles in Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, etc. – in part owing to social media allowing the spread of ideas and information.

This policy would just hand more repressive powers to the state, carte blanche.

Of course social media is bad for mental health – because it is ran by billionaire tech oligarchs seeking profits, and dominated by right-wing grifters with big-business backing.

The solution isn’t to rely on our class enemies to police young people (which will be useless anyway) but to nationalise and democratise the big tech monopolies.

If this ban is carried out – as it was in Australia – I think young people will erupt in anger. Will these ‘lefts’ stand on the side of the youth – or on the side of Starmer, Badenoch, and Co.?

‘Granny-snatching, migrant-bashing, prisoner-starving government’ wants to enforce a social media ban

Wilson argues that Starmer’s track record shows a clear disregard for human rights and legal norms. He refers to the mass arrest of pensioners protesting genocide and the proscription of a peaceful direct-action group. Then Wilson goes on to mention the hostile rhetoric to immigrants and the ongoing hunger strikes being wilfully and continually ignored by the UK PM. All of these mark infringements on our civil rights as citizens of the UK and our own government’s policies have been condemned by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

We reported recently on the HRW findings, citing:

• Clause 118 of the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, which would criminalise the concealment of identity during protests. These provisions are overly broad, risk penalising peaceful protesters for legitimate reasons (e.g. health, safety, privacy), and create a chilling effect on participation in lawful assemblies.
• Clause 124, which would expand police powers to impose protest restrictions in the vicinity of places of worship. Existing powers are sufficient to address threats to places of worship and the new measure risks being misused to suppress legitimate protest in public spaces. It must not be used to target particular groups or viewpoints, especially in light of recent responses to pro-Palestine protests.
• The proposed “cumulative disruption” amendment to section 13 of the Public Order Act, which would allow police to ban public processions based on aggregated disruption rather than the impact of the specific protest.

Wilson states that his fundamental issue with the proposed social media ban is that it would ultimately work in the establishment’s interests, as under-16’s are set to be the ‘most radicalised, revolutionary generation in memory’.

Social media has been an absolute unmitigated disaster for the organised left and humanity, but obviously a Starmer backed social media ban is just censorship at a time where the British state is becoming increasingly authoritarian https://t.co/SRkixCkTdF

— 32x (@SegaSaturnus) January 20, 2026

Make it safe, don’t isolate young people.

Wilson has a point. Once again the government are offloading responsibility when it works for them, letting billionaires off the hook.

Social media apps hit new lows all the time; the latest being the AI production of child sexual abuse materials on the Musk-owned platform X. Currently billionaire-owned platforms thrive on a model that profits hugely from anonymity, deregulation and chaos.

These conditions cannot be safe for adults, let alone our children.

However, in the absence of public spaces and amid growing isolation, social media has become a vital tool. When used consciously and with purpose, it allows people to connect and share information. After all, this all comes at a time when far-right governments are increasingly moving to control what the public sees and understands. Our young people might need that tool more than any generation ever before them. So, it is our duty to question the establishment’s eagerness to criminalise their access to wider communication.

As Wilson suggests, democratising big tech monopolies would remove any justification for an authoritarian, state-led ban. In fact, the left would oppose it without a second’s doubt.

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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