UK government plans to ramp up protections for children using the internet could include bans on the use of social media, according to reports.
Following the introduction of the Online Safety Act in October, Bloomberg reported that the government is now gearing up for a new consultation, through which a ban on under 16s using certain sites could be considered.
Science Minister Andrew Griffith on Friday dubbed rumours of such a ban as “speculation at this point”.
“If there is a consultation at some point in the future [...] looking at how you can continue to protect minors as opposed to the freedom of the internet for adults is always something that a sensible government, I think, would look at,” he told Times radio.
Technology giants such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) have been required to strengthen age-checking and other controls around illegal content online.
This is part of a bid to keep young and potentially vulnerable people from viewing harmful and potentially even dangerous things online.
Though a consultation and ban are yet to be confirmed, a government spokesperson suggested more needed to be done.
“From our point of view, we’re looking at ways to empower parents rather than crack down on anything in particular,” they said.
“We’ve identified that there is a gap in research so we’ll be looking at what more research into it needs to be done, but nothing is yet signed off by ministers.”