The following Statement was made in the House of Commons on Monday 15 June.
“Today marks a defining moment for our children, and for future generations, as we lay the foundations of a new settlement for the online world. We want to ensure that children have the best start in life and the freedom to be children again, and to put power back into parents’ hands.
Up and down the country, parents are grappling with social media—what their children are seeing, how much screen time they should have, who they are communicating with and whether they are safe. Many children love connecting and interacting on social media, but others struggle with their mental health, concentration and self-esteem. The police, children’s charities and far too many tragically bereaved families have seen for themselves the serious risks and harm that social media brings.
While these concerns are widely shared, there are different, often strongly held views about the best way forward. We launched our consultation on growing up in the online world to ensure that everyone’s voices were heard. The response has been overwhelming. We have had more than 116,000 replies, including 54,000 from parents and 14,000 from children. We have heard from charities, teachers’ organisations, the police and medical professionals, and from countless Members of Parliament—not only those on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee and the Education Committee, but my honourable friends the Members for Plymouth Moor View (Fred Thomas), for Croydon East (Natasha Irons), for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward), for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie), and so many more besides.
While these concerns are widely shared, there are different, often strongly held views about the best way forward. We launched our consultation on growing up in the online world to ensure that everyone’s voices were heard. The response has been overwhelming. We have had more than 116,000 replies, including 54,000 from parents and 14,000 from children. We have heard from charities, teachers’ organisations, the police and medical professionals, and from countless Members of Parliament—not only those on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee and the Education Committee, but my honourable friends the Members for Plymouth Moor View (Fred Thomas), for Croydon East (Natasha Irons), for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward), for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie), and so many more besides.
The progress report that we are publishing today sets out lots of different perspectives, but our consultation showed overwhelmingly that parents and children are concerned about what children are being exposed to online: harmful content; content that is completely inappropriate for their age; and abuse and exploitation. Parents are worried about the impact on children’s sleep, school, physical health and emotional well-being. Above all, parents are crying out for change. Nine out of 10 parents who responded to the consultation told us that they want an outright ban on social media, as did three-quarters of parents who responded to our large-scale representative survey and the 113,000 parents who signed Daisy and Joe’s Smartphone Free Childhood petition.
Keeping children safe online has been my top priority since day one in this job. I have listened to calls, especially from bereaved families, to act as quickly as possible. Today I announce our first steps, with more to come next month. I can confirm that we will ban social media companies from providing their services to under-16s. We are doing this to give greater protections to children and greater clarity to parents and carers, and to set a new social norm for future generations.
My intention is to lay before the House regulations on a ban, and to have a vote on them by the end of this year, with the ban coming into effect in early 2027. We plan to use the same model as Australia, covering user-to-user platforms that allow users to post material alongside algorithms. Our ban will include platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. Because we want to make sure that we do not include educational services, e-commerce or music streaming platforms, there will be a narrowly defined list of exemptions, which we will keep under review.
I have listened to parents, civil society and many MPs in this House, including my honourable friends the Members for Putney (Fleur Anderson), for Lowestoft (Jess Asato), for Congleton (Sarah Russell), and for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West (Dame Chi Onwurah), about the need to go further, and I can today announce our first steps to restrict a wider range of features and functions that create risks for young people. Because it can open the door to vile child abuse, we will ban livestreaming for under-16s across all platforms. We will ban communication with strangers, including in gaming, to stop paedophiles meeting and grooming children.
We are not stopping there. Artificial intelligence chatbots were a top concern of parents who responded to our consultation, particularly chatbots that mimic intimate relationships and exploit vulnerabilities. The Children’s Commissioner and my honourable friends the Members for Aylesbury (Laura Kyrke-Smith) and for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) have also raised this issue. Today, Britain becomes the first country in the world to ban chatbots that offer sexualised content to under-18s, and we will restrict this functionality on general-purpose chatbots too. We know that there are really serious concerns about other AI chatbots, such as in therapy apps, but I recognise that some of those may have benefits, so I am working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and others to assess the evidence, and I will come back to the House to give a further Statement next month on this issue, and on wider measures on AI chatbots.
We are not stopping there. Artificial intelligence chatbots were a top concern of parents who responded to our consultation, particularly chatbots that mimic intimate relationships and exploit vulnerabilities. The Children’s Commissioner and my honourable friends the Members for Aylesbury (Laura Kyrke-Smith) and for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) have also raised this issue. Today, Britain becomes the first country in the world to ban chatbots that offer sexualised content to under-18s, and we will restrict this functionality on general-purpose chatbots too. We know that there are really serious concerns about other AI chatbots, such as in therapy apps, but I recognise that some of those may have benefits, so I am working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and others to assess the evidence, and I will come back to the House to give a further Statement next month on this issue, and on wider measures on AI chatbots.
We want to address concerns that there will be a cliff edge when a child turns 16—an age when young people should be especially focused on their future and exams. I can announce that livestreaming and stranger communication, including in gaming, will be switched off by default for 16 and 17 year-olds. I am also strongly minded to bring in default overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for 16 and 17 year-olds. I will set out further details in my next Statement in July, once our pilot schemes are finished.
I know that not everyone supports a ban, and I have listened carefully to the concerns and want to take each in turn. First, we have seen in Australia that many children will try to get around a ban—and succeed. That is inevitable when social media has been such an integral part of their life. We will introduce more highly effective age-assurance measures better to support compliance, and I have asked Ofcom to share proposals on that within months. However, I want to be clear to parents, and to Members of the House, that our ban is as much about helping future generations, and resetting social norms in future, as it is about young people today.
Secondly, people worry that a ban would push children on to riskier, less regulated sites, and that is something that I take extremely seriously. I have had a long conversation with Ofcom and its new chair, and have written to them to stress once again that enforcement of the Online Safety Act 2023 and our new ban must be a top priority. Ofcom must focus rigorously on that, including in relation to riskier sites, and I have asked for an urgent review of whether it has the right capabilities in place. I have also asked Ofcom to publish a clear enforcement strategy and an annual report to Parliament on how the strategy is progressing.
Thirdly, we must prepare children for the online world, which will inevitably be part of their life. Many schools are already doing that, but from September this year, every pupil across England will learn about social media in the classroom, including AI and how to spot deepfakes. My department has produced new advice for parents on how to talk to children about the online world. It is called You Won’t Know If You Don’t Ask. This is schools and parents together preparing children for the future.
Thirdly, we must prepare children for the online world, which will inevitably be part of their life. Many schools are already doing that, but from September this year, every pupil across England will learn about social media in the classroom, including AI and how to spot deepfakes. My department has produced new advice for parents on how to talk to children about the online world. It is called You Won’t Know If You Don’t Ask. This is schools and parents together preparing children for the future.
Lastly but by no means least, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and my honourable friends the Members for Kettering (Rosie Wrighting), for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean), and for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) have rightly raised the importance of ensuring that all young people can access information, trusted support and exciting activities, especially if they are no longer spending so much time online. We are delivering on that, too. The Secretaries of State for Education and for Culture, Media and Sport are expanding what is on offer in every school and beyond the classroom, including after-school clubs in the holidays and at weekends. There is support for a wide range of enrichment activities, such as art, music, sport, cooking, camping, and museum visits—things that were once available only to those who could afford them, but are now available to every pupil in England. In stark contrast to Conservative Members, who cut youth services by 75%, we are investing £500 million in our Youth Matters national youth strategy, so that children from all walks of life, wherever they live, can access youth services, sport and the arts.
Lastly but by no means least, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and my honourable friends the Members for Kettering (Rosie Wrighting), for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean), and for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) have rightly raised the importance of ensuring that all young people can access information, trusted support and exciting activities, especially if they are no longer spending so much time online. We are delivering on that, too. The Secretaries of State for Education and for Culture, Media and Sport are expanding what is on offer in every school and beyond the classroom, including after-school clubs in the holidays and at weekends. There is support for a wide range of enrichment activities, such as art, music, sport, cooking, camping, and museum visits—things that were once available only to those who could afford them, but are now available to every pupil in England. In stark contrast to Conservative Members, who cut youth services by 75%, we are investing £500 million in our Youth Matters national youth strategy, so that children from all walks of life, wherever they live, can access youth services, sport and the arts.