UK examines under-16 ban and stronger age checks across digital platforms

Government is set to go to a complete ban of social media for under-16s which will place Britain on an growing list of countries attempting to introduce regulation for children and adolescents in relation to online media.

The plans come after the government's "Growing Up in the Online World" consultation, which had more than 116,000 responses and saw ministers review proposals that would prevent children under the age of 16 from signing up to and having accounts on all major social media platforms. Additional protections would also be put in place across all digital platforms.

"Beyond Social Media" This differs from the measures being passed by the Australian government that only pertain to children and their access to social media networks. Unlike these proposals, which only focus on the age limit and restrictions on social media use, the UK is looking to include more aspects within the social media ban.

These include restrictions on live-streaming services, "disappearing" message functions, and a ban on interactions between children and adults they do not know. Some child and teenager access to AI-powered chatbot services may also face stricter controls.

The measures would be implemented in addition to the UK's Online Safety Act, which places duties on technology firms to minimise the amount of harmful content on their sites and put measures in place to protect young users.

Data "Shows Scale of the Problem"The house of Commons Library figures that have been cited to highlight child use of digital platforms show the scale of the problem. It was revealed by Ofcom data that 95% of 13 to 15-year-olds in the UK currently use a social media service and 96% have their own profile on one, and 97% of the same age group own a mobile phone.

These statistics have added fuel to policy debates on age limits, platform responsibility, and the need for new verification measures, which would look to the likes of digital identity verification or facial age-estimation tools, for potential age restrictions to be enforced.

Australia was the first country to introduce nation-wide laws to prevent under-16s using social media services and these has been picked up by various politicians in both Europe and North America who are now considering if these laws are something that they too would like to implement.

The UK government has yet to put a time frame on when the legislation is expected to be introduced, however, it is expected to be after more research into the consultation findings has been carried out.

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