UK to Ban Under-16s From High-Risk Social Media, Block Under-18s From AI Chatbots
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 13
UK to Ban Under-16s From High-Risk Social Media, Block Under-18s From AI Chatbots
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 13
Summary
Monday’s plan will bar under-16s from yet-to-be-named “high-risk” social media apps and ban under-18s from romantic or sexual AI chatbots, while imposing limits on safer platforms.
Those limits would stop under-16s from using disappearing messages, contacting adult strangers and livestreaming, part of a child-safety push backed by more than 116,000 consultation responses and support from 9 in 10 parents.
Ministers have not yet identified which platforms will face a full under-16 ban, leaving companies and families awaiting the scope of the crackdown that Keir Starmer is due to outline.
The rapid decision — less than two weeks after the consultation closed on June 2 — has prompted warnings of possible judicial reviews, though legal experts say challengers would face a high threshold.
Age verification is likely to become the next battleground, with tougher enforcement potentially forcing tech platforms to collect more user data and raising wider privacy questions.