London: Britain, on Monday, became the fourth country in the world, after Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, to announce a ban on social media use for children under 16.
The move is aimed at protecting children’s wellbeing, British prime minister Keir Starmer said.
The new “Australia-plus” approach will also restrict livestreaming on platforms considered safer and prevent children from interacting with strangers on gaming apps, British government officials have been quoted as saying by the BBC.
“A full ban is the right choice,” Starmer said, adding that he is not “prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children.”
The prime minister said “we hope to pass regulation before Christmas and the ban will come into place from early next year.”
The British government also said that the ban will include Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not WhatsApp and Signal.
Australia became the first country to introduce a similar ban in December last year.
This move by Britain comes a fortnight after the close of the government’s three-month consultation, which examined both an outright ban and a range of other steps aimed at limiting children’s exposure to harmful online features.
Nearly 90% of respondent parents had said that they are in favour of a ban.
A report in The Sunday Times said that the UK would go further than Australia by adding measures such as curfews for older teenagers and limits on AI chatbots.
Keeping children safe online was one of the biggest debates of the time, Starmer said, adding that every parent wanted their child to grow up safe and happy. The government had to choose between backing families across the country and maintaining a system that was not working, he said.
The British PM added that people expected action, that the government would stand up for parents and put children first, and that it would call time on a system that was failing children and take bold action to give every child the best possible start in life.
The consultation had also sought views on less sweeping measures. These included turning off features such as infinite scroll and autoplay, introducing curfews, strengthening age verification and limiting the use of AI chatbots. The survey received 116,000 responses. Of the parents who took part, 90% supported a social media ban for under-16s, while more than 83% said the risks of social media outweighed its benefits.
However, some campaigners have argued that such broad restrictions would create more problems.
