British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his government are planning to restrict the use of social media for children under 16.
According to some rumours, the new rules could go as far as an absolute ban on access to social media for teenagers under 16.
According to what Bloomberg reports, the prime minister's intent is to protect minors from potential harm online : a decree in this sense could arrive shortly, despite the recent promulgation of the Online Safety Act, which requires social media platforms to protect minors from harmful content, accompanied by fines of up to 10% of a company's global revenue.
In a public consultation, which will begin in the new year, as reported by Bloomberg, the government will delve into the risks posed to children using social media platforms.
An executive spokesperson, interviewed by the Guardian, however played down the prospects of a total ban for under 16s: «From our point of view, we are looking at ways to empower parents rather than repress . We have identified that there is a gap in research on these issues, so we will look at what further research is needed into this, but nothing has yet been approved by ministers."
The Molly Rose Foundation, founded by the family of Molly Russell, who tragically took her own life aged 14 after finding harmful content on Instagram and Pinterest and being the victim of online bullying, has highlighted the need to strengthen the role of authority communications regulator, Ofcom.
Andy Burrows, an advisor to the foundation, said that "further measures are needed to protect children from online risks, but the emphasis should be on strengthening regulator action to ensure that platforms are no longer inundated with a variety of avoidable dangers."
(Unioneonline/lf)
