UK teenagers to trial social media bans, digital curfews / Photo: © AFP
UK teenagers to trial social media bans, digital curfews
Hundreds of British teenagers will trial social media bans and time limits on apps as part of consultations over new measures to keep children safe online, the government announced Wednesday.
The pilot was announced hours before the UK's upper house of parliament voted in favour of banning children from social media for the second time, piling pressure on the government to follow suit.
The government consultation seeks views from parents on whether to follow Australia and issue a blanket ban on social media for children under 16.
Three hundred youngsters aged 13 to 17 will try out different restrictions on social media use over six weeks to gauge the impact on their schoolwork, sleep and family life.
Some will have their social media apps disabled entirely, while others will have no access to them overnight, said the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
A third group will have a one-hour-per-day cap on the most popular apps for teenagers, including Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
The results will be compared to a fourth set of children who will continue to receive unlimited access.
"We are determined to give young people the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future," said technology minister Liz Kendall.
"These pilots will give us the evidence we need to take the next steps, informed by the experiences of families themselves."
The House of Lords voted for the second time in favour of an amendment -- which the government does not support -- to ban social media for children under the age of 16.
It was the latest development in the parliamentary ping-pong, after MPs in the Labour-majority House of Commons this month struck down the amendment first voted in by the Lords in January.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has not ruled out a ban, but his government says it is awaiting the conclusion of the consultation, due to close on May 26.
Australia in December became the first nation to prohibit people under the age of 16 from using immensely popular and profitable social media platforms.
Several other countries are considering similar bans, including France, where lawmakers in January passed a bill that would prohibit use by under-15s, which still needs final approval.
A jury in California in the United States on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman through the addictive design of their platforms.
British public figures, including actor Hugh Grant, have urged the government to back a prohibition, saying parents alone cannot counter social media harms.
But some experts warn that restrictions could be easily circumvented and would rather that tech platforms focus on making their sites safer.
(L.Møller--DTZ)
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