MPs' and peers' anger at YouTube as firm plasters Westminster tube station in adverts telling parents it is their responsibility to restrict screen time

By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 20:26, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 20:33, 9 June 2026 YouTube has angered MPs and peers by bombarding them with adverts that suggest it is up to parents rather than tech companies to restrict teenagers’ screen time. The video-sharing service, owned by Google, has plastered Westminster Tube station in posters ahead of the Government’s highly anticipated decision on whether or not to ban under-16s from social media. As well as covering the wall next to the door used by politicians and staff as they enter the Houses of Parliament, the YouTube ads have also been placed directly onto ticket barriers as part of a costly lobbying operation. They aim to show there is no need for ministers to intervene in the company’s operations because parents can already control their children’s screen time, stating: ‘Choose how much time your teens spend scrolling. Even zero.’ Another poster highlights a ‘Shorts feed limit’ that lets an adult ‘limit the YouTube Shorts video feed, or switch it off entirely’. But they have sparked a backlash from politicians who say tech firms themselves should be taking action to stop children becoming glued to their devices. Labour MP Jess Asato, who is suing Elon Musk’s xAI after its Grok chatbot made ‘disgusting’ fake images of her, told the Daily Mail: ‘Once again tech companies are trying to wriggle out of their own responsibilities to protect children from harmful functionality. ‘Their Westminster ads have backfired given the reaction of the MPs who are parents that I’ve spoken to - once again we’re being told to solve the problem app by app on our own.’ Some of the YouTube adverts seen by MPs and peers as they arrive at Westminster tube Fellow backbencher Fleur Anderson said: ‘Parents are fed up with tech companies not taking responsibility. ‘If it’s harmful or bad for children, don’t let them see it. We didn’t leave smoking up to parents to decide.’ And Lord Nash, who has led attempts to introduce an immediate social media ban for under-16s, said: ‘These companies are spending millions telling our politicians not to touch their business model. You can barely move in Westminster without seeing an ad from a tech company claiming its products are safe for children but no amount of advertising can change what these platforms are doing to young people.’ Ahead of an expected announcement by Sir Keir Starmer on plans for a clampdown on social media use by teens, the Tory peer urged: ‘He must now build the tightest regime we can: one focused squarely on blocking harmful platforms and functionalities, with robust age verification to keep children out, and designed from the outset to prevent the workarounds that would otherwise undermine it. ‘The era of big tech's uncontrolled experiment on our children must come to an end, however much they spend on ads.’ A YouTube spokesman insisted: ‘We take our role in families’ lives seriously. For more than ten years, we’ve partnered with independent safety experts to build real protections into our tech to keep kids safe in the digital world. That’s why we built YouTube Kids, a standalone app just for kids ages 3-13 to safely explore their curiosity, including our high quality educational content.’ It is thought that YouTube Kids will escape any social media ban for children because of its educational content. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.