White House warns UK against ban on social media for under-16s
The Trump administration has urged Britain not to ban social media for those under 16, as the British government weighs imposing such a policy to curb online harms.
The White House has opposed plans for an Australian-style ban, insisting it could harm free expression and arguing that parents should be responsible for managing their children’s social media use.
But the technology minister responded to the warning by saying he “will not give up” on doing what he believes is “right for children in this country”.
Responding to the UK government’s consultation on the issue, the US urged them not to apply “one size fits all” government restrictions and “blind regulatory tools” to restrict social media use.
The US embassy in London issued a statement saying the White House favored “targeted requirements” on “pornographic and adult commercial content rather than blanket social media bans.”
The Trump administration also expressed concern about policies that would “impose a disproportionate compliance burden on American companies.”
But technology secretary Liz Kendall said she was “much more disturbed by the parents who responded to the consultation” than by the White House’s input.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, he said: “I’m delighted whoever applies, but I will make the decision on behalf of British families, British children and young people, and I will not be influenced in any way to do what I believe is right for children in this country.”
Ms Kendall added: “We talk to everyone but my job is the UK’s secretary of state for science and technology and that’s what I focus on.
“I will read this submission carefully, but I am much more disturbed by the parents who responded to the consultation, nine out of 10 of whom want social media to be banned for under-16s, and I am really concerned about making sure we help parents.”
The prime minister is expected to announce a social media ban for under-16s next week after consultations saw tens of thousands of parents support the decision.
This comes after Australia imposed a ban in December, a policy the government is closely monitoring, and minister Kanishka Narayan visited the country last month. But the UK’s policy is expected to be more nuanced, with certain features and sites restricted to different age groups, rather than the blanket ban seen in Australia.
Over the weekend, Ms Kendall insisted the UK’s social media ban on under-16s would require “appropriate” age verification and stressed that any changes would not be “one and done”.
Asked what lessons Mr Narayan had learned during his recent visit to Australia, he said: “If we were to do this, you would definitely need to look at how you make sure there is appropriate age verification and compliance.
“I think that’s very, very important. One of the lessons I learned from what happened there is that for this to work in practice, you need appropriate age verification measures, so we looked at that really carefully.”
The UK is looking more broadly at “stranger matchmaking” in gaming systems, as well as “infinite scrolling” and night curfew, he told reporters at an AI adoption summit in London.
He added: “Anyone in this world who thinks this is one and done is wrong because technology is changing all the time, so I’m acutely aware… every government is going to have to constantly look at these issues over the coming years because this technology is moving so fast.”
