UK to trial social media ban for children under 16

The United Kingdom is seeking feedback from parents and children through trials of a potential under-16 social media ban, along with curbs on gaming services and AI-powered chatbots.

The U.K. government is enlisting hundreds of teenagers to test overnight digital curfews and daily screen-time limits, as part of a three-month consultation on new child-protection powers beyond the Online Safety Act 2023.

Authorities across the globe are moving to limit the effects of social media and online gaming on young people's mental well-being, as many parents feel outmatched by products designed to keep children online for longer.

Australia rolled out an under-16 social media ban in December, and other countries are now considering comparable restrictions.

Any U.K. measures could range from imposing an overnight social media blackout for under-16s to prevent addictive apps and platforms from disrupting their sleep, to setting a possible minimum age for social media use, and banning addictive design features, Reuters reported.

"The Online Safety Act brought in strong protections, but there is growing agreement that more needs to be done," a government statement said. "The contributions to this consultation will determine how the government will decide what that looks like."

U.K. Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall said: "We know parents everywhere are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having.

"This is why we're asking children and parents to take part in this landmark consultation on how young people can thrive in an age of rapid technological change."

The Guardian newspaper reported that a first trial will enroll about 150 children, from ages 13 to 15, to test three approaches — an outright social media shutdown, a daily cap of one hour, and overnight curfews — while tracking effects on sleep, mood, and physical activity.

Some child safety groups have opposed a full blanket ban, with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children warning it could risk "driving teenagers into darker, unregulated corners of the internet".

Supporters of a total ban for under-16s, such as campaign group Smartphone Free Childhood, said: "This consultation must result in clear age boundaries to protect children from unsafe platforms and ensure that responsibility and accountability for child safety sit where they belong — with the companies that design and profit from these systems."

The U.K. government statement noted that some parents and campaign groups were opposed to a blanket ban. "That is why this consultation looks beyond a ban and covers a full range of options," it said.