Schools face 'difficult decisions' over using X, says attorney general

Schools have “difficult decisions” to make about whether or not they want to remain on social media platforms such as X, the government’s chief legal adviser has told Tes.

Attorney general Richard Hermer also said that the current teaching on the rule of law is “mixed”.

Lord Hermer spoke exclusively to Tes as he launched free rule of law lesson plans for every school in England and Wales.

First government department to leave X

The attorney general’s department made headlines recently as it became the first government department to leave X.

“There is so much misinformation - the racism, anti-Semitism and misogyny is off the scale. I just don’t think I want a department that I lead to be out there on X,” Lord Hermer told Tes.

Concerns have also been raised about schools posting pictures of pupils on X and other social media platforms, due to the rise of deepfakes and AI-generated sexual abuse material.

While Lord Hermer said he would “not judge for a moment the decisions of teachers and heads”, he said that “schools, as with government and indeed with politicians, have difficult decisions to make in terms of whether or not they want to remain on a platform like X”.

‘Mixed’ teaching on rule of law

The rule of law is identified by the Department for Education as a fundamental British value. New lesson plans, developed with Oak National Academy and the Association for Citizenship Teachers, aim to teach young people about their rights and the legal system.

“If you can understand what your rights are, you’re more likely to be able to ensure your rights are being protected, and to seek accountability if your rights are not being protected. That’s why it’s really important to me that we get out into classrooms,” Lord Hermer said.

Asked what current teaching of the rule of law is like, he said: “I think it’s pretty mixed.”

Citizenship is set to become a statutory requirement for primaries, following the curriculum and assessment review.

Lord Hermer added that the resources are published before the finalised curriculum, which will be published in September 2028, “to ensure that it’s not patchy in terms of where it’s taught and how it’s taught”.

“I hope they enable teachers and pupils to engage in discussions about the big issues of our age,” Lord Hermer said.

Teachers should discuss social media ‘rights’

Lord Hermer also addressed the social media ban for under-16s, set to come in from next spring.

While the attorney general was adamant that the rule of law was not a “political programme”, he said the resources could be used to foster discussion.

“I think that’s going to be a really good way to have those discussions. Many young people might agree with it, but many might disagree with it, and you can have that conversation with people,” he said.

Lord Hermer offered an example of questions schools can discuss with pupils, such as: “Do they have a right to it? Does the government have a right to take that away from them? How does democracy work? What’s the role of government to protect or not to protect?”