The U.K. government is not ruling out further beefing up existing online safety rules by adding an Australian-style ban on social media for under 16s

UK open to social media ban for kids as gov’t kicks off feasibility study

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2024-11-20 11:00:02

The U.K. government is not ruling out further beefing up existing online safety rules by adding an Australian-style ban on social media for under 16s technology secretary, Peter Kyle, has said.

Back in the summer the government warned it may toughen laws for tech platforms in the wake of riots that were perceived to have been fuelled by online disinformation following a knife attack which killed three young girls.

Since then it’s emerged that some of the people prosecuted for rioting were minors — amping up concerns about social media’s influence on impressionable, developing minds.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Wednesday Kyle was asked whether the government would ban social media for under 16s. He responded by saying “everything is on the table with me.”

Kyle was being interviewed as the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) set out its priorities for enforcement of the Online Safety Act (OSA) which parliament passed last year.

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