Last month, Esther Ghey – whose daughter Brianna Ghey, 16, was murdered in February 2023- told the BBC she believed social media on smartphones should be banned for under-16s.
Asked about that proposal, Mr Janin said: “I understand her perfectly well because that was my feeling as well at the beginning – but it is like putting the genie inside the bottle again.
“We need to learn to live with this technology. This is happening globally, it is not only in England.
“I’m sitting here in London, probably at the same time we have another parent doing the same in Milano, another one in San Francisco, in Buenos Aires.”
Mr Janin said he believed the new Online Safety Bill, which came into law in October 2023 and aims to improve child safety on the internet, could be a “first step in order to get real change”.
Four months after Mia’s death, her mother Marisa died after suffering an aneurysm and contracting leukaemia.
Asked how he had processed his loss, Mr Janin said: “I think I can accept what happened, I don’t think I will understand.
“I accept it has happened to me – I just live in an empty house with a small dog, I used to have a home with a wife and a daughter.
“I accept that is my reality. I cannot escape from this.”
Mr Janin also told the BBC he had serious concerns about the way the investigation into the bullying of his daughter had been handled by the school after her death.
In response, a JFS spokesperson said: “After Mia’s tragic death, all information held by the school was handed to the Metropolitan Police to support their investigation.
“Throughout the investigation, the school has given open access to all of its systems. Our thoughts remain, as they have always been, with the family.”
