What the UK Government is proposing on social media regulation

The government is considering whether to impose a blanket ban on social media for under-16s, following a similar ban in Australia.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the Government was “very keen” to tackle addictive features on social media, following a landmark case in the US.

Here, the Press Association details what is proposed by the Government, what the Lordships support and how the US court decision will affect the proposals.

– What does the government’s consultation involve and how does it compare to Australia?

The consultation calls for views on whether there should be an Australian-style ban on children using social media and at what age it could start.

The Australian government says the ban protects children from risks arising from “design features that encourage them to spend more time in front of screens, while also presenting content that could harm their health and wellbeing”.

The UK consultation also asks whether social media platforms should be made to turn off addictive features in video content, such as infinite scrolling and autoplay features, that could keep children awake late into the night.

The consultation also considers overnight curfews on social media, as well as potentially restricting children’s access to AI chatbots.

Ministers plan to finish the consultation on May 26 and will aim to respond later in the summer when hundreds of young people attend a hearing on social media bans, time limits and curfews.

As well as the consultation, the government plans to hold a “national conversation” on online safety, which will include community events, debates by MPs in their constituencies and engagement in schools.

An academic panel will explore the evidence base emerging from places such as Australia.

– What law changes will there be?

The Prime Minister and Technology Minister Liz Kendall have vowed to quickly change the law based on the responses they collect.

Children’s access to certain social media services could be banned or restricted under a Commons-backed amendment put forward by ministers.

The Secretary of State will also gain new powers to impose social media curfews on young people or limit the time children can spend on social media.

The government has begun drafting powers that will allow them to make rapid changes to the law, rather than a years-long parliamentary process like the one prompted by the Online Safety Act.

These powers, called Henry VIII, have come under criticism in the past when they were used to allow ministers to avoid parliamentary scrutiny.

The bill has been debated in both Houses of Parliament but is currently in a stage known as ping-pong; Both Houses must agree on the final draft before it becomes law.

– What did the Lords vote in favor of?

Peers backed a social media ban on people under 16 for the second time on Wednesday.

Lord Nash, who proposed the age limit as part of the Children’s Welfare and Schools Bill, said “technicians” were taking a “polite approach” to content that harms children.

He warned that the Commons-backed amendment would “bring in far-reaching powers” that ministers could use “at some point in the future, without effective parliamentary scrutiny, to disappoint the millions of parents, teachers, police officers, doctors and others who are campaigning to raise the age limit to 16 for the most harmful platforms”.

MPs will be given the opportunity to vote on the amendment when it returns to the House of Commons.

This is the second time MPs have pushed to ban under-16s from social media, after MPs voted against it earlier this month.

The House of Commons instead agreed to give the Government wider and more flexible power.

– What is the impact of the US court’s decision?

In a potentially precedent-setting verdict in Los Angeles on Wednesday, a jury ruled that Google, which owns YouTube, and Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, created platforms to attract young users without regard for their well-being.

The lawsuit, filed after a young woman alleges that her childhood social media addiction worsened her mental health problems, could affect the outcomes of thousands of similar cases.

Asked whether the landmark hearing signaled a shift in public mood in anticipation of more aggressive government regulation, Sir Keir told reporters on Thursday: “I think so, and obviously we will scrutinize that decision very carefully, but I’m absolutely clear that we need to go further.”