UK government considers plans to raise the minimum age for social media
25 November 2024
The UK government is considering a bill to ban children under the age of 16 from social media and prevent their data from being collected, which ministers believe has significant public support.
Recent technological advances in age verification online are also anticipated to help enforce the new draft of proposed rules if passed, where previously it may have been easier to lie about one’s age when registering for a social media account.
An earlier version of the bill was ruled out because it included provisions to ban smartphones in schools. At the time, it was decided given head teachers already had the power to enforce this within their schools, that legislation on the issue was an unnecessary complication.
An outright ban on smart phones is currently out of the question because of a collective concern amongst parents of not being able to contact their children when they are away from home. However, there appears to be an open-minded attitude towards the discussion around the implementation of restrictions.
A grassroots movement called Smartphone Free Childhood, which brings together parents throughout the country to stand up for healthier childhoods, has already gained 150,000 supporters.
The movement was founded in February 2024 leading on from the success of a viral WhatsApp group with over 20,000 British parents calling for children not to have smartphones.
Co-founder and Director of Smartphone Free Childhood Daisy Greenwell said, “Parents across the country — and all over the world — are crying out for more support from governments on this issue because individually we are no match for big tech’s addictive algorithms.
“A generation of childhoods have already been swallowed up by smartphones so it’s hugely welcome to see legislation that aims to tackle this finally being discussed in Parliament.”
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