U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to act “within months, not years” to curb addictive social media features and protect children online, as the government prepares a three-month consultation in March on proposals that include banning under-16s from social media and restricting infinite scrolling.
Framing the plans as a response to mounting parental concern, Starmer said the status quo is failing to safeguard children from online harms and signaled a swift legislative push. “I don’t think there’s a parent in the country who isn’t worried about this,” he said during a visit to a community center in London. “The status quo, things as they are now, is not good enough. Nobody can make the argument that things can be left as they are. They can’t, they’re not protective of children, and we intend to act.”
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The consultation will consider an Australian-style ban on social media for those under 16 and new rules to limit “auto-scrolling” features designed to keep users engaged. Supporters of such measures say parents are in an “impossible position” as children face a steady stream of addictive content and potential harm. Spain, Greece and Slovenia have said they plan similar bans.
Starmer, who referenced his own teenage children, stressed the need to balance stronger protections with access to information. The government, he said, must ensure it does not cut off “sensible, good access” to news for young people. “Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up,” he added.
In a bid to bolster online safety, the government also plans to examine restrictions on virtual private networks (VPNs) that can be used to bypass age checks, and to tighten controls around AI chatbots. Starmer said ministers intend to move quickly “not just on the age concern, but on the devices and applications that make the sort of auto-scrolling, the constant glueing to the machine that you can never stop scrolling.”
Ministers have indicated they now hold powers that would allow speedier interventions, a shift likely to reduce parliamentary scrutiny over future curbs. The legal changes are expected to be introduced as amendments to existing crime and child-protection legislation under consideration by Parliament.
Further AI measures will broaden a ban on creating sexualized images without a subject’s consent to cover more chatbots, the government said, following action taken against Elon Musk’s Grok. The move aims to close gaps that enable the rapid spread of abusive content via generative AI tools.
While aimed at shielding children, the proposals highlight a recurring tension between safety and civil liberties. Past U.K. efforts to step up age checks have led to friction with U.S. platforms over free speech and regulatory reach, and raised concerns about users’ privacy and data security.
Some websites have chosen to withdraw or restrict their services rather than comply. Image-hosting platform Imgur last year blocked access for all British users and replaced content with blank images after tighter age-verification rules. Several major pornography sites have also blocked U.K. users rather than verify ages, saying mandated checks are invasive and potentially insecure.
Many of those geographic blocks can be circumvented via widely available VPNs—one reason the consultation is expected to consider age restrictions or other limits on VPN use for minors. The government argues such steps are necessary to make safety rules enforceable in practice, not just on paper.
The March consultation will solicit views from parents, tech firms, educators and child-safety advocates on how to design workable age limits and rein in product features linked to compulsive use. Officials say the goal is to move quickly from consultation to legislation, with Starmer underscoring that new protections should arrive on a timeline measured in months, not years.
Starmer has cast the effort as a reset in the U.K.’s approach to online harms—a push to keep children safe while preserving access to credible information and services. How the government draws those lines, and how platforms respond, will determine whether Britain can curb the worst harms of social media and emerging AI tools without eroding fundamental rights.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
