The government said it would review international evidence on a range of proposals, including whether a social media ban for children would be effective and, if adopted, how it could be enforced.
The UK government has launched a consultation on introducing an Australian-style ban on social media for children, alongside other measures aimed at improving online safety for minors.
In a statement on Monday, the government said it would review international evidence on a range of proposals, including whether a social media ban for children would be effective and, if adopted, how it could be enforced.
UK ministers are also expected to visit Australia, which last month became the first country to ban social media use for children under 16, in order to learn from its approach.
The consultation will consider options such as raising the digital age of consent, introducing phone curfews to limit excessive use, and restricting potentially addictive features like “streaks” and “infinite scrolling”, the government said.
The move comes as governments worldwide struggle to regulate rapidly expanding AI-generated content, an issue that drew global attention this month after reports that Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot produced non-consensual sexual images, including of children.
The UK has already outlined plans to ban artificial intelligence “nudification” tools and to prevent children from creating, sharing or viewing nude images on their devices, according to the statement.
“We are determined to ensure that technology enriches children’s lives, not harms them and to give every child the childhood they deserve,” said Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.
While the announcement did not specify an age limit, the government said it was exploring a ban for children “under a certain age”, along with stronger age-verification measures and a review of whether the current digital age of consent of 13 is too low.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party would introduce a social media ban for under-16s if it were in power, PA Media reported.
Badenoch criticised the Labour government’s consultation as unnecessary delay, accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer of lacking the resolve to implement a ban.
“The prime minister is trying to copy an announcement the Conservatives made a week ago, and still not getting it right,” she said, adding: “This is yet more dither and delay from Starmer and a Labour Party that have entirely run out of ideas.”
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