Britain is set to completely ban children under 16 from using social media, and restrictions will also be imposed on gaming and live streaming platforms, according to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's announcement.
The ban will include social media platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X, while messaging services like WhatsApp will not be included.
The Prime Minister stated that this decisive action is being taken to protect children from online dangers and to help them reclaim their childhood.
The Prime Minister emphasized that this ban will not result in penalties for children, but rather enforcement actions will be directed at social media companies.
The British government has instructed Ofcom, the communications regulator, to urgently identify the best methods for verifying age verification to confirm users are 16 years old.
Additionally, the government will conduct detailed studies on implementing nighttime social media access bans for children under 18 and eliminating infinite scrolling features on phone screens.
The British government plans to finalize the relevant legislation before Christmas this year, with the intention to implement this ban in early 2027.
Britain is following the model set by Australia, which first implemented a similar ban in December.
While most parents support this measure, some psychologists and researchers remain skeptical about whether this system will actually be effective.
Ref: Channel News Asia
