What is the story about?
The UK government is preparing to ban teenagers under the age of 16 from accessing social media apps deemed high risk, as part of one of the most sweeping
crackdowns on Big Tech the country has seen, according to a report from the Guardian.
What the Government Is Planning
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to outline the plans on Monday, though ministers will confirm which specific platforms fall under the under-16 ban at a later date. Alongside the ban on high-risk apps, under-18s will also be prohibited from using romantic or sexual AI chatbots.Even social media platforms considered safer will face restrictions for younger users. Under-16s will be blocked from using disappearing messages, chatting with adult strangers and livestreaming on those platforms.
A Fast Turnaround
The speed at which the British government has moved is notable. The consultation on keeping children safe online only closed on June 2, and the government has already set out its response less than two weeks later. More than 116,000 responses were submitted during the consultation period, and nine out of ten parents who responded expressed support for an under-16 ban.A Downing Street source told the Guardian that Starmer had been clear from the moment the consultation closed that the government's response needed to be a genuine game changer.
"It's not going to be an incremental change, this is not going to be half measures," the source said. "The prime minister has listened to parents and he understands that they feel they are trying to do the right thing, but they are on their own against huge tech giants."
What Ministers Are Saying
A source close to Technology Secretary Liz Kendall pushed back on any suggestion the government was still figuring out the details at the last minute. "Liz has been clear from day one that she will do what is right by British parents and their children," the source said, as per the report.A senior government figure also denied reports that No 10 was still debating the definition of social media ahead of the announcement, insisting the work behind the plans had been properly thought through.
