UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to announce Australian-style social media ban
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to impose an Australian-style social media ban on young teenagers, preventing under-16s from using apps such as TikTok, Instagram and X.
According to the Financial Times, Mr Starmer is expected to give a speech on Monday morning local time to announce sweeping changes that will also hit romance chatbots and some gaming app features.
Restrictions on children up to the age of 18 to prevent late-night “swiping” will also form part of the proposed policy, according to The Guardian UK.
Australia’s world-first social media ban came into force on December 10, preventing young teenagers from accessing 10 social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and X.
The policy follows the Let Them Be Kids campaign, spearheaded by News Corp Australia, which lobbied the federal government to tackle the harms of social media to children.
Since the landmark changes came into force in Australia, countries such as Malaysia, France and Spain have either attempted to legislate or have signaled their intention to pass similar social media laws.
Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the tech giant would introduce new child safety features, including a set of recommended core apps, Browse Request, Time Allocations, and redesigned Screen Time.
Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, was briefed on the changes via a personal phone call from Mr Cook, who told Apple he was “partly inspired by Australia’s world-leading social media age ban”.
Last month, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told a Senate Estimates hearing that her office had yet to impose any penalties on platforms caught in social media bans.
“We have not yet reached a final decision on whether the platforms took reasonable steps (to prevent under-16s from creating or holding accounts), which is the highest standard we must prove under the legislation,” he said.
He acknowledged there was “strong interest” in why penalties were not imposed, but added that “systemic non-compliance must be proven in court with solid evidence and complex legal proceedings”.
