UK mulls Australia-style social media ban for kids

Agencies

London

The UK government has launched a consultation on implementing an Australian-style social media ban for children in the UK, as well as other measures to better protect minors online.

The government said on Monday it would examine evidence from around the world on a wide range of suggested proposals, including looking at ‌whether a social media ban for minors would be effective, and if one ‌was introduced, how best to ‌make it work.

UK ministers will visit Australia, which last month became the first country in the world to ban social media for young people ‌under 16 years old, hoping to learn firsthand from the Australian approach, the UK government said in a ‍statement. “The consultation will look at options including raising the digital age of consent, implementing phone curfews to avoid excessive use, and restricting potentially addictive design features such as ‘streaks’ and ‘infinite scrolling’,” the government said.

The UK’s announcement comes as governments and regulators worldwide grapple with the rapid explosion of AI-generated content, which was highlighted this month by an international outcry over reports of Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot generating non-consensual sexual images, including of children.

The UK has already set out plans for an outright ban on AI modification tools, while working to stop children being able ‌to take, share or view nude images on their devices, it said on Monday.

“We are determined to ensure technology enriches children’s lives, not harms them – and to give every child the childhood they deserve,” UK Secretary of State for Technology Liz Kendall said.

The UK’s announcement did not mention a particular age limit for social media use, but the statement said it was exploring a ban “for children under a certain age”, in addition to other measures, such as better age checks and looking into whether the current digital age of consent of 13 years was too low.

The leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has already said her party would introduce a social media ban for under-16s if it were in power, the UK’s PA Media news agency reports.

Badenoch, PA reports, said the planned consultation by the Labour-led government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer amounted to more delay from his leadership, after earlier accusing him of lacking the “backbone” to enforce a social media ban.

“The prime minister is trying to copy an announcement that the Conservatives made a week ago, and still not getting it right,” Badenoch said.

“This is yet more dither and delay from Starmer and a Labour Party that have entirely run out of ideas.”