British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a comprehensive regulation that will ban children and young people under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms. The plan prepared by the government within the scope of long-discussed online security policies aims to reduce the risks that children face in the digital environment. Starmer said that social media can have negative effects on children’s mental health and facilitate problems such as bullying and online harassment, and that stronger measures are needed. The announced regulation provides a broad framework that will cover not only social media applications but also some online gaming and communication services.
In his speech at Downing Street, Starmer emphasized that the decision was not taken lightly. Accepting that social media is not a completely negative area for young people, the Prime Minister stated that the government should prioritize the safety of children. According to Starmer, public policies always involve certain choices, and a comprehensive ban is thought to be the best option in the current circumstances. The government states that it prepared the regulation in order for children to have a safer and healthier online experience.
The UK aims to bring the regulation into force next year
Starmer also responded to criticism that there may be young people trying to get around the ban. The Prime Minister said the fact that some young people were trying to get around the rules did not mean regulation was unnecessary. Citing the current laws on the sale of alcohol to children as an example when explaining his opinion, Starmer said that the rules are not only enforcement mechanisms but also reflect the values of society. Accordingly, it is thought that the new regulation will change the expectations of parents and children over time.
The government’s goal is to pass the necessary legal regulations through the parliament by the end of the year. According to the planned schedule, the ban is expected to come into force next spring. In this process, technology companies are expected to face new obligations regarding age verification systems and content access controls. Despite this, it seems that the details of how the regulation will be implemented and supervised are not yet clear.
Starmer’s statement was also attended by many campaigners on child safety and families who lost their children. While the Prime Minister said that he would not compromise on the safety and happiness of children, he stated that different opinions were evaluated during the preparation of the regulation and that the practices in countries that took similar steps, such as Australia, were examined. Australia was one of the first countries to raise the age limit for social media use, accelerating global discussions in this area.
On the other hand, Starmer stated that the new regulation should not be considered as an anti-technology approach. Recognizing the importance of artificial intelligence and digital technologies for economic growth, the Prime Minister said that protecting children and supporting technological developments are not contradictory goals. According to data shared by the government, 90 percent of parents who participated in the public consultation titled “Growing up in the online world” supported the idea that the minimum age limit for accessing social media applications should be 16. While this result reveals that the new regulation finds strong support in the public, it seems that the effects of the application on the technology sector and young users will be discussed more in the coming period.