Children under the age of 16 will be banned from social media in the UK, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced.
Mr Starmer made the announcement at a Downing Street press conference, warning that social media is having a damaging impact on children’s happiness and mental health, reports RTE.
He said he would not compromise on the “safety and happiness of our children.”
He said he was confident the ban can be made effective but acknowledged that some children would find ways around it, reports RTE.
The measure is expected to come into force by early next year.
The British Government will also take “world leading” action on gaming and live streaming platforms to prevent strangers from being able to contact children, he said, reports RTE.
These restrictions will be required to be switched on by default for children up to the age of 17.
The Government is also examining potential overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18s, reports RTE.
Mr Starmer said a full ban on under-16s accessing social media was “the right choice.”
The father-of-two said: “This is not something I do lightly, and I will not present it as cost-free, as if social media has brought no benefits to young people, because clearly that is wrong.
“But Government is always about choices, and it’s clear to me that a full ban is the right choice.
“I come to it as a parent myself. I know exactly the fears that we all feel when we’re thinking about this issue.
“All I’ve ever wanted for my own children, hand on heart, is for them to be happy and for them to be safe, and I think that’s what any parent wants, but I ask the question now: Do we truly believe that social media creates a happy environment for our children?
“Do we truly believe that it’s a place where they can feel safe? I don’t think I even need to answer those questions, do I?
“Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy,” reports RTE.
He said it was “making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse” children and “could even be harming their mental health — exposing them to content that is dangerous, because that’s what grabs the attention.”
The Prime Minister’s announcements were met with applause from campaigners who had been invited into No 10 to hear the speech, reports RTE.
His announcement came shortly before he departed for the G7 summit in France, where he will meet world leaders including US President Donald Trump.
There has been resistance from the Trump administration to action against social media platforms, which are largely based in the United States, reports RTE.
Mr Starmer said he had spoken to Mr Trump and would raise the issue with him again, while stressing that many countries around the world were “grappling” with the question of children’s safety online.
The move comes as Mr Starmer faces significant political pressure ahead of the Makerfield by-election on Thursday, which could see Andy Burnham return to Westminster to launch a campaign to replace him as Prime Minister and Labour leader, reports RTE.
As he announced the ban, the Prime Minister indicated there would be a carve-out for online learning tools such as YouTube Kids.
Video-sharing platform YouTube, however, warned that a blanket social media restriction could push children toward “less-safe services” following the announcement, reports RTE.
A YouTube spokesperson said: “We’ve invested in expert-led, age-appropriate experiences and default protections for teens for over a decade and will continue to do so.
“YouTube is a vital resource for young people, educators and parents.
“Blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less-safe services,” reports RTE.
There is a “real risk” that banning under-16s from social media will see youngsters “driven to darker places on the internet,” Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner also warned.
Nicola Killean insisted the evidence does not currently show that banning children from social media will make them safer online, reports RTE.
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