The week before this year’s Cannes Lions, the UK government announced plans to ban under-16s from social media in an effort to protect young people from online harms. But Ian Russell, Co-Founder and Chair of the Molly Rose Foundation, says that while there may be benefits to such a ban, there will also be unintended consequences. For example, many teenagers will likely find ways to stay on social media, but they’ll be less likely to discuss their social media usage with their parents for fear of getting into trouble. What’s really needed, says Russell, is to tackle the root problems at source by restricting social platforms’ most dangerous features.
In this interview, Russell discusses his experience attending Cannes this year, his disappointment in Instagram boss Adam Mosseri’s decision to pull out of this year’s event, and his message to people working in media and marketing. Filmed in Cannes.
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