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Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce sweeping reforms tomorrow banning under-16s from 10 major social media platforms, including X, but not the Left-wing platform Bluesky. In addition, he will introduce daily curfews for 16 and 17 year-olds, going further than Australia's restrictions. The Times has the story:
Teenagers will be banned from certain social media platforms and have their daily usage curbed under sweeping reforms to be announced by Sir Keir Starmer on Sunday.

The ban will go further than the one imposed by Australia in December by targeting technology deemed harmful to children, including chatbots and certain features on gaming apps.

Under-16s in Australia have been banned from using ten platforms: TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch and Kick. It is understood that the UK will follow suit by raising the minimum age on social media to 16, from the average of 13, for the same ten sites.
Curfews for older teenagers will be introduced. Daily social media use will be restricted for 16 and 17 year-olds in a move designed to curb unhealthy late-night scrolling habits.

A Government source said: "Keir has been clear we need a game-changer to keep our children — and future generations — safe online."

The reforms, which come two weeks after a public consultation on potential restrictions closed, will stop short of banning the messaging platform WhatsApp and apps considered to have educational value. However, the government will go further than Australia and introduce restrictions on romantic or sexual chatbots after several legal cases involving the AI agents mimicking relationships and encouraging children to take their own lives.

Kanishka Narayan, the online safety minister, has said the government — which will also give 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote — could block conversations between children and strangers on gaming platforms.

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act, which was passed in April, gave ministers the ability to introduce measures to restrict harmful features on online services without needing to pass new laws. It is not clear when the ban will come into force or how effectively the government will be able to enforce it.
The 10 social media apps under-16s will be banned from are:
  • X
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Snapchat
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Twitch
  • Kick
  • Threads
How could the Government have digested the 116,000 responses to its consultation about restricting social media access for children just two weeks after the consultation closed? Hard not to agree with Ian Russell, the father of Molly, 14, who took her own life after viewing harmful content online, who has accused Starmer of "playing politics" by rushing out the ban.

Worth reading in full

Stop Press: Starmer wants social media companies to enforce his ban on under-16s accessing them using face scanning technology. What could possibly go wrong? The Telegraph has more.