The UK Government has launched a consultation on how to approach child safety in online spaces. 

The consultation will gather perspectives from across the country on social media use, gaming sites and AI chatbots, to inform changes to legislation around keeping children safe online.  

It follows Australia’s move to become the first country in the world to ban social media for under 16s at the end of 2025, punctuated by a plethora of controversies involving some of the world’s largest social media platforms 

Parents, guardians and young people will have the opportunity to voice their opinions on how policy should shape the use of online spaces that have the perceived potential to negatively impact young people, with the consultation expected to raise concerns around the issues of addiction, self-harm, isolation and mental health of children online. 

It’s a contentious issue, with many baulking at the idea of an outright ban for fears that this would remove a source of community, entertainment and education for young people. 

The consultation will consider a range of solutions, ranging from a complete ban of these platforms for under 16s, to overnight curfews, or restrictions on addictive features which encourage ‘doomscrolling’.  

Key questions the consultation will explore include:

• whether there should be a minimum age for social media, and if so, what age would be right
• whether platforms should be required to switch off addictive features that keep children hooked late into the night – like infinite scrolling and autoplay
• whether mandatory overnight curfews would help children sleep better and what age they should apply to
• whether children should be able to use AI chatbots without restriction
• how age verification enforcement should be strengthened
• how to help children and parents navigate the digital world and thrive online

The consultation will close on the 26th of May 2026, with an indication that the Government plans to enact change and enforce legislation within months rather than years of its closure. 

Pilots would be run to assess the impact of new changes. The Online Safety Act was a positive move in the right direction, but this campaign takes things further. 

Keir Starmer suggested that governments are responsible for providing leadership and support for parents in regard to keeping young people safe online, stating leaving “things as they are now is not good enough”. Starmer suggested that the eight years it took from ideation to outcome of the Online Safety Act was not acceptable and that this consultation would not be allowed to take the same time. 

The UK is not the only country considering similar changes. Spain, France, Denmark, Greece and Austria are just some of the countries also working on similar campaigns. 

Interestingly, a YouGov poll conducted last December showed that the majority of participants would be in favour of an outright ban for under-16s (either ‘Strongly’ or ‘Somewhat’ supporting the idea).

What are some of the potential problems with a blanket ban?

Despite lots of initial support, some have suggested that blanket bans may not be an appropriate solution. By applying the same rules to WhatsApp as you are to Instagram, you are treating platforms with different use cases in the same way. 

Beyond this, there are further concerns that a blanket ban of these sites would encourage young people to seek out unrestricted and less regulated sites, aggravating potential damage in some instances. 

Similarly, opening unrestricted access for children as soon as they turn sixteen, could result in a more dramatic uptake in social media and digital platforms and increased misuse.

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Making changes to existing sites to safeguard children and young people may be a more measured and sustainable transition, wherein tech platforms are held to account in policing content that children can access and view. 

This consultation comes just a month after the Grok investigation which saw tightening of legislation to prohibit the AI chatbot from creating sexualised images of people without their consent. Keir Starmer stated that companies must “abide by illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law”. Meta has recently taken additional accountability for safe use of its platforms, notifying parents when their children search for suicide and self-harm related content online. 

Coordinated action by parents, policymakers and platforms is undoubtedly a commendable way to improve safety online for children. The recent age-verification drive for adult sites, together with high-profile compliance efforts on services like Discord, shows how big reforms play out in practice – where gaps, workarounds and pockets of support quickly become clear.

This consultation offers a rare moment to decide which protections we want and how to deliver them fairly. Whether it actually works out that way is a different story.