Key Points:
- Britain wants public feedback on banning social media for teenagers.
- The government might also restrict gaming platforms and AI chatbots.
- A three-month public consultation will explore overnight screen time curfews.
- Officials plan to run real-world tests with families and teenagers.
The British government wants to know if it should permanently ban children under 16 from using social media. Starting Monday, officials are asking parents and teenagers to share their thoughts during a new three-month public consultation.
Leaders around the world worry about how social media and video games hurt children’s sleep and mental health. Tech companies build apps specifically to keep young users staring at their screens, leaving many parents feeling completely overwhelmed. Australia recently introduced a similar nationwide ban for kids under 16, and Britain might soon copy that approach.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer believes the country needs stronger laws to protect young people. He says the current Online Safety Act, which lawmakers passed just over two years ago, falls short. The new proposals explore setting a strict minimum age for social media, blocking addictive app features, and creating overnight curfews for young users.
Technology Minister Liz Kendall explained that families everywhere struggle with screen time limits. She noted that parents constantly worry about when to buy their kids a phone and what those kids see online. To find real, practical solutions, the government will run test programs with teenagers and their families to see how these restrictions actually work in daily life.
Officials will also investigate artificial intelligence tools. They want to decide if they should limit how children interact with AI chatbots. At the same time, they plan to strengthen age-verification systems across the entire internet.
In a separate but related move, Britain is preparing much tougher rules for tech companies regarding harmful content. The government will force platforms to remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours. If companies ignore these orders, they will face massive fines of up to 10 percent of their total global revenue.
