0 comments
It’s official. As early as spring 2027, social media will be banned for under-16s in the UK. Keir Starmer is also planning online curfews for under-18s to be announced in July.
Touching grass is now mandatory.
As expected, the Prime Minister briefed on Monday morning that a social media ban will be in effect for under-16s in the UK by this time next year.
There are 10 major platforms in question: TikTok, Instagram, X, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, Threads, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick, while further measures will also prevent under-16s from communicating with strangers on gaming apps.
The most surprising revelation was that teens up to the age of 18 will be given curfews to prevent them scrolling late at night. As of now, WhatsApp will remain unchanged, though certain restrictions may appear soon including removing location sharing and disappearing messages.
The weird sexual AI chatbots that have become increasingly popular in the last year are also getting the Online Safety Act treatment for anyone south of 18.
In terms of how it will all work, the onus will be put on social media platforms to twig when a platform belongs to someone under 16, meaning the third-party facial technology and ID checker tools gatekeeping adult websites will become even more prominent in the UK.
With that, we can also expect VPN downloads to absolutely skyrocket, as they did following the same ban in Australia last year. Gen Alphas won’t take the news laying down, and there will be concerns that some may be pushed into unregulated corners of the internet where their safety and privacy is at greater risk of being compromised.
This is the main argument from the social media companies themselves, most of whom have already posted public statements on the matter. After all, they can’t just say they don’t want to lose masses of engagement overnight.
That’s not to say that young people are unanimously against the bill, however, or think it to be completely without justification.
As part of the massive government consultation that underpinned this decision, the Guardian reported that almost two-thirds of young respondents admitted that restricting high-risk features would make them safer online. What many of the major tabloids are missing, though, is the nuance behind this opinion.
Young people are very aware that social media apps are cooked. They’d like the overly addictive algorithms designed to have people infinitely scrolling tempered. They know late night sessions mess up their sleep, and they’re constantly reminded that their dopamine receptors are being fried by TikTok.
They wouldn’t be up in arms over the worst of social media being regulated, but they aren’t too thrilled about being booted off the internet entirely.
Whatever way you look at it, removing the agency of young people from avoiding danger online is undermining and it only feeds the belief that their thoughts and opinions aren’t held in high regard by the people in power.
