UK government faces backlash for dropping proposed social media ban for under-16s

The UK government has faced backlash after scrapping plans to follow Australia in banning social media for under-16s.

The British Government’s decision to shelve potential plans on introducing a social media ban for under 16s similar to Australia has been met with fury.

Labour MP Josh MacAlister debated the Safer Phones bill in the UK’s House of Commons on Friday (Saturday AEDT) and said it had been recently drafted without increasing the age of social media access with “explicit government backing”.

Despite it excluding raising the age limit from 13 to 16 to access social media sites such as TikTok and Snapchat, the Labour government has not ruled out making changes within a year when findings are handed down by chief medical officers on any harm suffered by children using the online platforms.

“What does the bill do?” Mr MacAlister said in parliament.

The British Government’s decision to shelve potential plans on introducing a social media ban for under 16s similar to Australia has been met with fury. Picture: AFP

“Most importantly, it commits the government to coming back within a year with a decision on whether to raise the digital age of consent from 13 to 16”.

In Australia the social media age ban is set to be introduced by late 2025 and tech giants are required to “take reasonable steps to prevent” under-16s from having their own social media accounts.

It is yet to be determined how this will be enforced.

One of the UK’s top health officials, Chris Whitty, has been asked by ministers to investigate risks and harms posed by young children online and whether this should lead to a banning of access for under-16s.

Despite it excluding raising the age limit from 13 to 16 to access social media sites such as TikTok and Snapchat, the Labour government has not ruled out making changes within a year.

Conservative MP Kit Malthouse – who was education secretary under former British Prime Minister Liz Truss in 2022 – voiced his outrage at the government’s move to abandon increasing the social media age limits.

He said many Britons should be “furious” that the government “promised” including raising of the digital age of consent in the bill before abandoning the move.

“By not including that in the bill, we are consenting to those tech companies — as they have admitted in meetings in the run-up to this bill — using children’s data to addict them to their services,” Mr Malthouse said in parliament.

“We know that happens, and we see it happening”.

Labour MP Jess Asato was also among those to voice her strong support for Australia’s move to ban social media access from 13 to 16 to and said the UK should follow suit.

Labour MP Jess Asato was also among those to voice her strong support for Australia’s move to ban social media access from 13 to 16 to and said the UK should follow suit.

“The UK must follow countries such as Australia by raising the age of online consent from 13 to 16,” she said in parliament.

“Some 55 per cent of Gen Z and 86 per cent of parents in the UK support that idea, and 130,000 people recently signed a petition on the UK parliament website to that effect”.

Mr MacAlister said recent survey findings of online bullying among British children is extremely concerning.

“For some children, the ubiquitous use of smartphones has forced them into a world of around-the-clock, inescapable bullying and abuse,” he said.

“Over 73 per cent of girls and young women have experienced online harm in the last year”.

Originally published as UK government faces backlash for dropping proposed social media ban for under-16s