U.K. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has indicated that the government is considering a ban on social media for children under 16, similar to Australia’s stringent regulations.
The comments come as the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) outlines its enforcement strategy for the Online Safety Act (OSA), passed last year to address a broad spectrum of online harms.
With enforcement set to begin next spring, the U.K. is doubling down on its ambition to become the safest place to navigate the digital world, according to TechCrunch.
The government’s renewed focus on child safety is rooted in recent events, including riots last summer linked to online disinformation after a knife attack killed three young girls. Later on, investigators revealed that several rioters were minors, intensifying concerns about the influence of social media.
While Kyle emphasised the need for evidence-based policymaking, the government has launched a feasibility study to explore the effects of social media and smartphone use on children. This study aims to fill research gaps highlighted by a 2019 review by the U.K. Chief Medical Officer, which concluded that existing evidence linking social media to mental health concerns in children was insufficient.
The government will mandate Ofcom to monitor and assess the implementation of child protection protocols. In 2025, digital platforms must deploy age authentication mechanisms to restrict access to inappropriate content. Non-compliant websites and services may incur substantial financial penalties, up to 10% of their global annual turnover.
The government has also classified the non-consensual sharing of images as a ‘priority offence’. If notified, platforms can tweak their algorithms to remove the pictures and prevent uploading such content.
The government has acknowledged the delicate issue of combating online disinformation and preserving free speech.
With Australia and the United Kingdom considering banning social media for children, this could encourage other countries to move forward with similar legislation. It will also be interesting to see how social media companies lobby against such regulations.
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