MOVE TO SAFEGUARD UNDER-16s FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

In her first motion titled, Limiting Social Media for Children Under the Age of 16, new MP for George Town West, Hon. Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden, has received full Parliamentary backing, citing the dangers children are exposed to on various platforms.

“I rise today as a Member of Parliament for George Town West to move a motion of urgent national importance. It is not anti-technology, nor is it anti-progress. It is not an attempt to reverse innovation or to deny young persons access to the digital world. Rather, it is an evidence-based response to a rapidly evolving public health and child protection crisis,” MP McGaw-Lumsden stated.

The motion received broad endorsement, starting with the Hon. Premier Andre Ebanks.

“It's a brilliant motion,” he declared. “It is well researched. It is well outlined. And having heard her deliver it verbally, it was compellingly delivered,” the Premier said. “I think she has done a good body of work that we can learn lessons from jurisdictions and not have to reinvent the wheel.”

Hon. Leader of the Opposition, Joey Hew, complimented his party member for bringing the issue before the Parliament in comments also directed to the Hon. Speaker Ezzard Miller. MP McGaw-Lumsden is the Deputy Speaker of the Cayman Islands Parliament. “I'm sure you're proud as your Deputy Speaker the way she researched her first motion in this House, the way she crafted it, and the way she articulated it. Mr Speaker, I can tell you firsthand the amount of work that she put into this, the amount of research she has done.”

​

CROSS-PARTY COMMENDATIONS

The urgency of the situation was evident in the supporting remarks from both sides of the Parliament.

​The motion was seconded by Hon. MP Roy Tatum (PPM/Progressives - Red Bay). “The Honourable Member of George Town West has shown leadership in bringing this forward. I am proud to second her. The motion is not about moral panic. It's not anti-technology. It's not about censorship. Instead, it is about child protection, as she said. It's about public health, and it's about this House doing the things that we know we need to do to protect our children, easy or not.”

​Hon. Parliamentary Secretary, Julie Hunter: “This motion correctly identifies that we can no longer afford to be spectators while the mental health and safety of our youth are compromised. We must give this issue the urgent priority that it deserves.”

​Hon. Parliamentary Secretary, Heather Bodden: “This motion provides an opportunity for the government to engage stakeholders, listen to parents and educators, consult with young people themselves, and review the international evidence before determining the most appropriate path forward for our country. Safeguarding the healthy development of our children is not a partisan issue. It is a responsibility that all of us in this House share.”

​Hon. Minister for Youth and Social Development, Isaac Rankine: “Notwithstanding this motion before us here today, my team in the Ministry of Social Development did have this matter on this radar, have been actively monitoring the various jurisdictions, and had embarked on and are currently making progress towards enacting social media regulations as well, including United Kingdom, France and Australia at present.”

​Hon. Minister for Caymanian Employment, Michael Myles: “I'm hoping that as we form this motion into a bill and bring this back to the house that we have open conversations about how we're going to do this because we can ban social media, just like we ban guns, but they still come into our shores…As lawmakers, I don't want us to get into this frenzy that this is going to be the panacea for solving this problem. We have to ensure that there's a conversation with our people.”

​Hon. Minister for Health, Katherine Ebanks-Wilks: “Prevention is possible. It requires a coordinated effort across government, education, health, services, families and also our communities. It requires patience, resources and sustained commitment. This motion follows the lead of other countries confronting the same challenge.”

​Hon. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson also highlighted the cross-party support for the motion while praising MP McGaw-Lumsden for bringing it forward. “This is a great day for our beloved islands,” he stated. “Sitting here and seeing everyone working together for the betterment of our people is inspiring. We should all be very proud in this chamber today, really proud. I want to join members in thanking our Deputy Speaker for bringing this motion. Is timely. It is necessary. As a matter of fact, I think it's absolutely necessary.”

​Hon. Minister for Education, Rolston Anglin: “This is not going to be a walk in the park, but we are taking the most important first step here today, which is acknowledging that this is a national priority, so much so that it's being debated in our Parliament. From what I can see, it’s going to garner unequivocal support from every single member.”

​Hon. Deputy Leader of the Opposition (PPM/Progressives), Kenneth Bryan, took the issue a step further. “I want to speak directly to phone companies across the world; Apple, Samsung, Google, Vivo, you are the predominant phone makers in the world. I am begging you to make a child-friendly phone for parents that they can buy and give to their kids, that will ultimately allow them to communicate, but without the platforms available on it.”

​The anticipated legislation resulting from the McGaw-Lumsden Opposition Private Member’s Motion is expected to result in landmark legislation that could rank Cayman among the first countries globally to have such laws in place. Last December, Australia became the first country to implement such a ban after the law it passed the previous year took effect. Meanwhile, in the UK a similar proposed ban was rejected by MPs this week.

By Staff Writer