House of Lords backs social media ban for under-16s

A ban on social media for under-16s has been backed by the House of Lords following growing calls from campaigners.

It comes as supporters of the Australian-style ban have argued parents are in ‘an impossible position’ about the online harms their children are being exposed to.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced a three-month consultation this week, which will consider the advantages and disadvantages of a ban, as well as possible overnight curfews and actions to prevent ‘doom-scrolling’, reporting back in the summer.

But former schools minister Lord Nash argued the evidence is ‘overwhelming’ for a ban, with support ranging from ‘medical professionals to our police and national intelligence community, from our teachers to hundreds of thousands of parents’.

Peers voted 261 to 150, majority 111, in support of Lord Nash’s amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Now that peers have backed the ban, it will move to the government, which will have the chance to overturn it in the House of Commons.

What would a social media ban for under-16s in the UK look like?

Almost four in 10 children aged 3-5 use social media in the UK. If the UK implements the same, it would likely mirror that of Australia.

Australia has employed age-check methods like checking browsing history or seeing if phone activity is consistent with school times.

A platform disables an account if it identifies a user as underage. There is no penalty for a minor using social media, but firms face fines for failing to enforce the law.

The UK already has laws to limit under-16s’ access to inappropriate content.

The Online Safety Act restricts access to adult websites unless the user can prove they’re over 18, such as by uploading card details or enabling their device’s camera to take a photo, which is scanned to guess their age.

Some kids in Australia are already bypassing age checks by wrinkling their faces and Googling contraception to appear older.

Others just browse social media without an account or click on shared links to outsmart politicians.

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