UK set to defy Trump with social media ban for under-16s
Britain is set to challenge Donald Trump over young people’s use of social media after the US warned against a blanket ban on under-16s.
In response to consultations on the ban, the US embassy in London said the country favored “narrowly targeted requirements” for adult content “rather than broad social media bans”.
While the US said it “does not categorically oppose age-safety measures,” it said: “Most content, including political speech, should remain accessible by default.
“We believe that an open internet is necessary to protect freedom of expression and that most content should be accessible by default unless the provider knows or has reason to know that the user is a child.”
He added that there are concerns the technology is not good enough to determine whether a person is under 16 and that the move “could impose a disproportionate compliance burden on American companies.”
Asked about America’s objections to the ban, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said the prime minister was “focused on what is right for families here, now and in the future”.
Previously, Technology Minister Liz Kendall said she would be “in no way affected by doing what I believe is right for children in this country”.
He told Sky News he would read the US response “carefully” but was “much more disturbed by the parents who responded to the consultation”.
The consultation, which closed on 26 May, received nearly 120,000 responses, making it the second largest government consultation in history after the consultation on equal marriage in 2012.
Sir Keir told his cabinet on Tuesday morning that the response “showed the strength of feeling on the issue” and that there was “no doubt” the government would take action.
Ms Kendall said an Australian-style ban on under-16s using social media was “on the table”, along with other options such as a curfew or limits on addictive properties.
But ministers appear to be receptive to the ban; 90 per cent of parents responding to the consultation said they would support the ban.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also repeatedly called for a ban, telling the BBC on Tuesday: “Social media is for adults, not for children.”
And the Liberal Democrats called on Sir Keir to “not be bullied into diluting protections for children online” under US pressure.
