Keir Starmer has announced plans to ban people under the age of 16 from social media using the same model that was deployed in Australia late last year.
During the announcement, the Prime Minister said he hoped the measures would be introduced next spring and aimed to avoid the lengthy delays that plagued the Online Safety Bill (OSB).
Australia’s implementation, which the UK intends to replicate, impacts all platforms whose purpose is to enable social interaction alongside the posting of user-generated material. The law affected platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, although the UK does not intend for messaging services including WhatsApp and Signal to be included in the ban.
Australia’s enforcement strategy does not penalise children or parents. Instead, the legal and financial burden is placed on the social media companies, with platforms facing fines up to AUD $49.5m (£26m) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to keep underage users off their apps...