EE has urged against giving children aged under 11 smartphones in new guidance to parents.
The telecommunications firm is the first to suggest that children should have restricted access to social media and ‘inappropriate sites’.
It recommends that they instead be given ‘brick’ phones with only basic capabilities such as calling and texting.
Furthermore, parents of children under 16 should use parental controls in order to manage their access to inappropriate online content, the company has said.
The Telegraph reported that staff at the firm are being trained in the new guidance, which comes in the wake of growing criticism that tech giants are not doing enough to protect children from harmful content.
Data from regulator Ofcom in February showed that nine out of 10 11-year-olds already had a smartphone, with 99% of children spending time online.
Although most social media platforms have a minimum age of 13. as many as six in 10 children aged between 8 to 12 have their own account, the research found.
And three in five school children had reported being contacted online in a way that made them feel uncomfortable.
In an international survey of 10,000 parents, including 2,000 in the UK, over half said they regretted giving their children a smartphone.
The government has come under pressure from online campaigners and parents of bereaved children to ban the devices for those under 16, a move so far resisted by Sir Keir Starmer, who has instead suggested that there should be stronger controls in place to restrict harmful content.
EE serves over 13 million homes. It’s corporate affairs director, Matt Sears, said that the firm was aiming to support parents with the ‘challenging’ and ‘growing complexity’ of smartphones.