British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce a social media ban for young teenagers, designed to protect children from harmful content and excessive screen time. The ban would apply to popular social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Global Movement to Tighten Online Safety

Britain would join a growing global movement to tighten online safety for children. Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia have introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions or requirements for children’s access to social media. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand, and South Korea are among others studying or developing similar approaches.

Starmer stated that the decision is a choice about whose side the government is on: families across the country or the status quo that isn’t working. The ban is expected to be more prohibitive than the Australian-style ban on social media for children under 16.

The Sunday Times reported that the UK would also restrict chatbots, features on some gaming apps, and place a curfew aimed at preventing older teens from late-night scrolling. The decision follows a public comment period in which the government received 116,000 responses from parents, the tech industry, and children.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said that the vast majority of respondents wanted an under-16 ban, including youths. Nandy added that a ban should be part of other measures, stating that she doesn’t think banning social media on its own is the silver bullet solution.

Jon Crowcroft, a communications systems professor at the University of Cambridge, expressed concerns that the ban could drive some users to worse sites and that policing devices is close to impossible technically. Crowcroft suggested that policing platforms is far easier, if only regulators would bother.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.