After Australia, UK plans social media ban for teens under 16

It appears that after Australia’s social media ban, the UK government is also thinking of implementing something of the same sort. According to a report by Reuters, the UK government has now launched a national consultation asking parents and children whether social media should be banned for those under 16 years of age.

The government is taking this initiative as part of a broader effort to safeguard the mental health and well being of young users. As per the Reuters report, the Britain government announced the consolation on March 1, which will gather views from families, educators and young people themselves. Along with this, the government is also seeking views of potential restrictions for gaming platforms and artificial intelligence chatbots.

It comes amid growing concerns that platforms designed to maximize engagement are harming children’s sleep, attention spans, and emotional development.Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also signalled his desire to go further than Britain’s present Online Safety Act which is a two and half years old legislation. Starmer believe that new powers are required to keep children safe in an era of rapidly evolving technology.

"We know parents everywhere are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having," technology minister Liz Kendall said in a statement to Reuters.The consultation include a range of possible measures such as establishing a minimum age for social media access, banning addictive design features such as infinite scroll and autoplay videos, and introducing overnight curfews that would cut off access for under-16s during late-night hours.

Australia’s social media ban

In December last year, Australia imposed a social media ban for children under 16 years of age. Australia’s internet regulator has said that the country’s ban on social media access for children under the age of 16 will be the first crucial step in a global effort to curb the influence of major technology companies like Meta (Instagram, Facebook, and Threads), TikTok, Snap’s Snapchat, and Alphabet’s YouTube.“We’ve reached a tipping point,” According to eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant stated at the Sydney Dialogue cyber summit.

Notably, she initially had concerns about the “blunt-force” nature of the ban but now fully supports it after incremental changes proved ineffective in regulating platforms.“Our data is the currency that fuels these companies, and there are these powerful, harmful, deceptive design features that even adults are powerless to fight against. What chance do our children have?” she said, as per news agency Reuters.