UK government weighing up social media ban for under 16s

UK ministers are currently voting on an amendment to ban under 16s from social media and the Prime Minister is reportedly open to following in Australia’s footsteps.

Under mounting pressure, the UK government is now weighing up whether to ban children under 16 from using social media.

A consultation is currently taking place, in which dozens of MPs will vote on whether an Australia-style policy should be implemented by next year. Here’s our take on Australia’s ban, by the way.

Prime Minister Kier Starmer has previously resisted calls for such a drastic measure, though recent developments suggest his position is beginning to soften. Several events have prompted this reconsideration in the last month, as well as mounting noise from both Labour MPs and Conservative opponents.

Over the past two weeks, the UK has been dominated by headlines surrounding the spread of sexually suggestive deepfakes on X, most of which have been linked to Elon Musk’s integrated AI image generator, Grok. The majority of the images are understood to be non consensual, with some reports alleging the inclusion of child subjects.

In response, the government has moved to fast track new legislation, expanding the law beyond the distribution or intent to distribute such material, to criminalise the creation of a sexualised deepfake itself.

Ofcom has launched a large scale investigation to see if X complied with moderation requirements mandated by the Online Safety Act. Depending on severity and scope of misgivings in the findings, X could soon find itself ousted from the nation completely.

Another domino fell over the weekend, with medical professionals warning of the ‘health harms’ caused to children by social media in a letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

The body, which represents 23 medical royal colleges and faculties, provided first hand testimony detailing ‘horrific cases treated across primary, secondary, and community settings,’ linking poor physical and mental health outcomes to excessive screen time and exposure to ‘harmful online content’.