UK prime minister stares down barrel of ban on social media for kids
- Reference: 1768823757
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/01/19/uk_social_media_children_ban_prime_minister/
- Source link:
Yesterday, a group of 61 Labour backbench MPs published an [1]open letter supporting a ban similar to the one in Australia. They wrote: "The onus must be placed on technology platforms, not parents, to prevent underage access," adding that "public support for this approach is strong."
Millions of age checks performed as UK Online Safety Act gets rolling [2]READ MORE
The government could enable a ban by supporting an opposition amendment to legislation going through the House of Lords, the UK Parliament's amending chamber, which is likely to be considered later this week.
Conservative life peer Baron John Nash's amendment to the [3]Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill would "require all regulated user-to-user services to use highly-effective age assurance measures to prevent children under the age of 16 from becoming or being users."
It would also instruct the UK's four chief medical officers to prepare and publish advice on children's use of social media at different ages.
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The amendment was sponsored by Baroness Hilary Cass, a crossbench (independent) peer and pediatric doctor who led a damning government-commissioned review of NHS gender identity services for children and young people.
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In an article in The Times, Baroness Cass [7]wrote that coroners and clinicians can see how social media is damaging children: "The evidence is not emerging, it has arrived. We are not waiting to see if harm will occur, we are watching it unfold every day."
The amendment was also sponsored by Baroness Floella Benjamin, a former children's television presenter and a Liberal Democrat life peer.
[8]US teens not only love AI, but also let it rot their brains
[9]Reddit sues Australia to exempt itself from kids social media ban
[10]Welcome to America - now show us your last five years of social media posts
[11]Charities warn Ofcom too soft on Online Safety Act violators
[12]Good morning, Brit Xbox fans – ready to prove your age?
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch supports banning both social media for the under-16s and smartphones in schools. "We tell children what to do all the time. Children are not adults. Freedom is for adults," [13]she said last week .
Australia's ban on under-16s holding active social media accounts [14]came into force in December . The Australian government conceded the measure can be avoided by under-16s not logging into services or by using someone else's account, with prime minister Anthony Albanese comparing it to underage drinking laws that set a standard even through they can be circumvented.
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Starmer's government has made a number of policy U-turns since coming to power in July 2024. Last week it [16]dropped its plan , announced by the prime minister in September last year, to require British citizens to obtain a digital identity card to access employment by the end of the current Parliament. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://x.com/FredThomasUK/status/2012905067959947440/photo/1
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/04/millions_of_age_checks_performed/
[3] https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909/stages/20215/amendments/10031850
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aW5jO6y3IhlD6cYrxJ69YwAAAsM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aW5jO6y3IhlD6cYrxJ69YwAAAsM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aW5jO6y3IhlD6cYrxJ69YwAAAsM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/hilary-cass-backs-ban-on-social-media-for-under-16s-bjtccsfhs
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/10/teenagers_ai_chatbot_use/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/reddit_sues_australia_social_ban/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/10/us_nonvisa_entry_five_years_social_media/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/19/ofcom_osa_enforcement/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/28/xbox_online_safety_act/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/12/conservatives_social_media_ban/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/09/australian_social_media_ban/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aW5jO6y3IhlD6cYrxJ69YwAAAsM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/14/uk_digital_id_climbdown/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Always brings a smile to my face when Floella Benjamin starts kicking off - can't help thinking that if Parliament was dissolved and replaced by a body consisting only of former presenters of Play School and Play Away, we'd probably all be a damn sight better off... (maybe with a smattering of former Tiswas presenters to add a bit of randomness to proceedings)
Johnny Ball for Prime Minister!, and RIP Brian Cant...
Bring back [1]sortition .
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition
Gordon the Gopher too, with the current dismal standard of politician of all flavours, he'd be a star in comparison
Ah, but surely Gordon's judgement has to be called into question having appeared alongside Phillip Schofield for so long? It's almost like Peter Mandelson all over again...
Fans of The Goodies will know the ultimate end of this: a Puppet government (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goodies_Rule_%E2%80%93_O.K.%3F)
Another brick in the wall
>> Kemi Badenoch supports banning both social media for the under-16s and smartphones in schools. "We tell children what to do all the time. Children are not adults. Freedom is for adults.
I support banning politicians from social media.
Re: Another brick in the wall
*edit* kinell, VoT posting semi sensible stuff again, we really are in a strange parallel universe. I support banning from office anyone who expresses a desire to become a politician.
Re: Another brick in the wall
I support banning social media.
Re: Another brick in the wall
"I support banning politicians from social media."
I support banning government from social media.
Yes, people should be kept informed of what is happening, but using a medium that started with "dumb everything down and squeeze it into a hundred or so characters" (and hasn't evolved much since) is a really terrible idea.
Age verification is just complexity without value. Respond to Trump's Greenland tariffs with advertising bans for Facebook and Twitter and block the sites so advertising has no value.Trump squeals like a stuck pig when his financial supporters are targeted.
The issue is that it won't be a ban on under 16 using social media, it will be age verification for everyone over 16 to prove they are old enough to access the apps and websites. And we have already seen what a sh1t show age verification has been for accessing 'adult' content and they want to bring this in for social media too? Just so parents can put their feet up and say its ok i don't need to be supervising my children online the government is doing it for me.
You first, Honourable Member
Exactly the kind of scenario where I want MPs and Lords to run a 3-5 year pilot scheme, with them as the users, before pushing it on us peons.
Why not just ban the internet altogether?
From what I can see, with all the proposed restrictions combined with the ever (and rapidly) increasing amount of slop and criminal activity (and risks to both corporations and individuals that come with that), it is difficult to see the internet continuing to be useful (or indeed usable) for much longer anyway.
"a damning government-commissioned review"
Damning, and utterly discredited by real scientists. Cass was awarded a peerage for giving the government an excuse to push their transphobic policies.
Re: "a damning government-commissioned review"
There is no such thing as 'transphobia.'
No wonder the country is bankrupt, with government wasting vast amounts of taxpayer money trying ever-harder to control every aspect of our lives.
Government should stick to the basics of setting up the economy for business, and looking after security and defence, and it should leave parenting to parents. Those lazy parents who want to abdicate responsibility for their kids to someone else need a boot up the arse and a lecture on personal responsibility.
Digital Leash
This is the remit of MI5:
to protect national security against threats from espionage, terrorism and sabotage, from the activities of agents of foreign powers, and from actions intended to overthrow or undermine parliamentary democracy by political, industrial or violent means
to safeguard the economic wellbeing of the UK against threats posed by the actions or intentions of persons outside the British Isles
to act in support to the activities of police forces and other law enforcement agencies in the prevention and detection of serious crime
Larry Fink's Dream
https://thewinepress.substack.com/p/tokenization-blackrocks-larry-fink
Starmer's "Growth Talks" with Larry Fink
https://www.cityam.com/reeves-and-starmer-meet-blackrocks-larry-fink-for-growth-talks/
Digital ID to be rolled out
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-digital-id-scheme-to-be-rolled-out-across-uk
Those clowns take tax payer money and don't do their job we pay them to do.
What's the point in having democracy?
Correction
Cass led a transphobic and thoroughly debunked political exercise to support policies that the right od the Tory party wanted to enforce.
Now, sure, just because she was woefully wrong about all that doesn’t necessarily mean she is wrong here, but …
… yeah, she probably is.
Social media is bad and we need to ALL try to actively get away from our addiction to it but a) blanket bans won’t help b) education and support for children and parents will c) this isn’t, as others have pointed out, anything to do with children it’s all about pushing digitised ID and enriching social media networks (since they will know *exactly* who you are and thus the data they have on you is way more valuable).
I’ve seen a claim that the Australia version has the same aims AND was brought in to distract/displace from attempts to regulate/restrict children’s exposure to gambling in games and other online content.
Think of the children? Sure, if they can generate some profit out of them in some way
Digital ID anyone?
"Oh it will be so convenient, why wouldn't you want a digital ID? Why are you scared of the government knowing what you're up to in every bit of your life every minute? Don't be paranoid, they won't use it to restrict internet access"
Thin. End. Of. The. Wedge.
And the hammer will follow.