Overview
- Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said a social media ban for under‑16s is “definitely on the table” after the UK’s consultation drew more than 80,000 responses and roughly 42,410 from parents who largely backed age limits.
- Australia’s December law forced platforms to remove about 4.7 million under‑16 accounts but the country’s eSafety regulator reported that nearly 70% of previously registered children still access age‑restricted services, showing major enforcement gaps.
- Malaysia began enforcing new rules on Monday that require ID‑based age checks for major platforms and bar under‑16s from registering accounts, with fines of up to 10 million ringgit for non‑compliance and a limited grace period for firms to adapt.
- UK ministers are also weighing narrower options such as overnight app curfews, limits on addictive features like infinite scroll and autoplay, stronger age verification, and restrictions on stranger chat in games.
- The UN and rights groups warn blanket bans do not fix harmful product design or algorithmic risks, and experts say tougher rules could push young people to smaller, less regulated sites while raising privacy and free‑speech trade‑offs.