U.K. unveils social media, online gaming and streaming ban for under-16s – National

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled plans Monday for a sweeping social media ban for under-16s across the U.K., following multiple other countries, including Canada, introducing their own plans to restrict youth access to social media.

“It’s a big step for our country,” Starmer said in a video message posted on X on Monday.

“Social media is making our children unhappy and unsafe, and as a parent, as much as a Prime Minister, I just can’t let that go on anymore,” he added, while acknowledging that the ban has and will continue to face pushback and will require constant adaptation to keep up with technological advancements.

“Our children deserve better; they deserve a happy, safe childhood in a stronger, fairer Britain,” he continued.

The ban will include platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. Messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal will not be included, the U.K. government said in a news release.

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It will also block “harmful functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication with children for under-16s.”

Starmer said the British government had based its plan on Australia’s, the first country to implement such a ban.

It was enacted into law in December, though enforcement has not been straightforward. In March, Australia’s eSafety Commission said that many children under 16 still had access to, or could create, accounts on restricted platforms.

The U.K.’s policy, which also includes measures to limit access to online gaming sites, is designed to reduce the mental and physical toll that endless online scrolling takes on young people, including displacing sleep, the loss of play and time spent with family and friends, the prime minister noted in his video message, before citing an overwhelming public response in favour of restrictions.

British government data collected from a consultation of more than 116,000 people between March 2 and May 26 found that nine in 10 parents were in favour of decisive action to curb social media use among under-16s, the government said.

“I’ve heard firsthand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them,” Starmer said, adding it was time to hold digital platforms accountable for their failure to implement sufficient protections.

“This is a line in the sand,” he said. “Tech giants had their chance and failed, but we’re stepping in to protect children, back parents and set a new normal for future generations.”

The plans come as Elon Musk’s xAI, which operates the chatbot Grok, faces landmark litigation over claims of non-consensual sexualized image generation and that it facilitated the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

It also comes days after the Canadian government introduced online harms legislation that would require social media companies to restrict children under 16 years old from their platforms.

Unlike the U.K. and Australia, the Safe Social Media Act puts the onus on tech giants by requiring social media and AI chatbot platforms to incorporate age-appropriate designs, including content warning labels, safe-search settings for children and measures to reduce addictive behaviours such as endless scrolling.

Similar laws have been or are due to be passed in Malaysia, Brazil, France and other nations.

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