Overview
- The government closed a major consultation on children and online safety on Tuesday that drew more than 80,000 responses and prompted Keir Starmer to meet bereaved parents and pledge action “weeks, not months.”
- Officials are increasingly inclined to stop short of an Australia‑style blanket ban and instead outlaw or limit addictive design features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay videos, streaks and persistent push notifications for users under 16.
- Ministers continue to consider a wider package of measures including overnight app curfews, raising the digital age of consent, limits on VPN use and safeguards for AI chatbots, with formal proposals expected by summer and possible legislation later in the year.
- Campaigners and families are split: some MPs press for a statutory under‑16 ban while bereaved parents and experts including Molly Russell’s father argue bans may push young people to harder‑to‑monitor spaces and instead call for bans on engagement algorithms and stranger contact features.
- International experience is informing ministers’ caution because Australia’s under‑16 ban deactivated millions of accounts but has shown evidence of circumvention, and regulators warn enforceability and unintended harms to children remain central unresolved issues.