Australia’s social media ban for children being watched ‘very closely’ by UK ministers

Peter Kyle, Technology Secretary, is ‘really interested’ in measures being introduced this year, including age verification

Ministers are looking “very closely” at the Australian government’s move to impose a ban on younger children using social media.
Peter Kyle, the Technology Secretary, said that he was “really interested” in the measures being introduced by Australia to set a minimum age for children to access platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
The Australian government is to test age verification technology and intends to bring in an age limit – probably between 14 and 16 – this year.
Mr Kyle said that there was “considerable evidence” social media was “harming vulnerable young people” and added he was going to “keep everything”, including a ban, “on the table”.
He told the BBC: “I’m really interested in the measures that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is looking at. It [social media] is making some young people increasingly vulnerable.
“We don’t yet have much evidence about what action makes a big difference in response or is indeed effective. So I’m looking very closely at the Australian experience and I’m open-minded. I would do anything to keep young people safe.”
The UK’s Online Safety Act, which was inspired by The Telegraph’s Duty of Care campaign, has yet to be fully implemented.
It places a legal duty on social media companies to prevent children from accessing content that is harmful or age-inappropriate including pornography, self-harm and eating disorders.
This can be achieved by either removing it from the platform or using age verification or age estimation tools to restrict under-aged children from viewing it.
Companies that fail to comply with the rules will face fines of up to £18 million, or 10 per cent of the company’s annual global turnover, whichever is greater.
However, some campaigners are concerned that Ofcom, the online regulator, is not going far enough in requiring robust ID checks that would effectively ban any child under 13 from sites such as TikTok, Facebook or Instagram.
It follows calls from the education select committee, bereaved parents and some campaigners before the election for the Government to ban children under 16 from social media and even access to smartphones.
It is understood that Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Kyle want to see the impact of the Online Safety Act before considering further options.
Sir Keir has also rejected banning under-16s from social media, but has suggested there should be stronger controls around what content children can access on their devices.
Last month EE, which serves more than 13 million homes, advised parents not to buy smartphones for primary school children.
The telecoms giant said that they should instead give children aged under 11 “brick” or “feature” phones that would only allow them to text and call.
Mr Kyle said that he wanted social media products to be tested before launch to stop potential harms to society.
He said: “I’m trying to create a situation where safety is baked in at the start of social media products before they land in society, because at the moment, they’re free to land products in society.
“We deal with the harms, and then we’re sort of retrospectively legislating and regulating. We need to get to a point where there is more testing of these products before they make it out into society.
“We’re not there yet. I’m not there yet, but I’m taking steps forward, and I think social media companies can see the approach that I and this Government are taking to make sure that safety is there right from the outset.”
Meanwhile, Lord Darzi, the former Labour minister and government health adviser, told The Times that the mental health epidemic among young people in the UK meant radical measures needed to be considered.
He said: “After the riots, the Prime Minister said: ‘I’m warning social media companies. This stuff is happening on your premises too.’
“I think you could say the same thing about the mental health crisis. There are 109,000 kids waiting for mental health support. It’s just awful, that’s the future generation. These are the kids who will produce the journalists, the doctors, the nurses. It’s frightening.
“If anything could be done on social media on a personal basis, I will vote for it, no question about that. I don’t know the solutions but we have to have some controls on access to some of the materials you can get access to on social media.”