UK bracing for new bill restricting social media, VPN use for children

The UK is preparing to social media for children due to online safety concerns, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to address legal loopholes in this regard.

No social media platform will receive a "free pass," Starmer asserted, noting that he aims to tackle the addictive nature of social media, promising a crackdown on features that keep children hooked.

UK social media ban and online safety

New proposals surrounding the UK's social media ban include requiring tech companies to preserve data on a child's phone if they die, a measure advocated by the Jools' Law campaign.

The UK government is also planning to launch a public consultation in March to seek opinions on restricting children's access to AI chatbots and limiting features like infinite scrolling, also called doomscrolling.

After grappling with controversies involving Elon Musk's social media platform, the government is now seeking new legal powers to act quickly on findings from the consultation.

Starmer stressed that technology must evolve along with the law, stating that social media has changed profoundly over the past two decades, and it often harms children.

The government intends to make amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure chatbots protect users from illegal content and prevent children from using VPNs to access inappropriate material.

The proposed changes also involve how children's social media data is stored, with bereaved parents advocating for quicker access to this information.

Critics, on the other hand, argue that the government is lagging in its response, demanding a clearer timeline for the ban's implementation.