Social media companies could be forced to exclude teenagers from algorithms to make content less addictive to under-16s, under a new bill with strong backing from Labour, Conservatives and safeguarding experts childish.
Ministers will this week discuss the Safer Phones Bill, a bill introduced by a Labor MP and which has a high priority in parliament.
It would also commit the government to review the sale of phones to teenagers, including a review of whether there should be additional technological safeguards on phones sold to under-16s.
Josh MacAlister, the Labor MP behind the bill, will meet Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, this week to discuss potential government backing for the bill’s measures.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, praised the idea on Tuesday. posting on X: “Given the impact of smartphone use and addiction on the mental health of children and young people and the concerns of parents, this is a really timely debate.”
Ministers are believed to be open-minded about some of the provisions in the bill and whether any of them may apply when the Online Safety Act comes into force, although there is a strong view in the government that it should not be banned selling phones to teenagers.
The bill is backed by former Conservative education secretary Kit Malthouse and new education select committee chair Helen Hayes.
MacAlister, MP for Whitehaven and Workington, will introduce his bill on Wednesday and it will receive a second reading in January. Although private members’ bills are rarely passed in their original form, MacAlister’s came fifth in the vote, giving him more parliamentary time. The government periodically adopts measures contained in bills if they have widespread support.
Before becoming an MP, MacAlister founded Frontline, a graduate social work training programme, and previously led the independent review of children’s social care.
He said: “There is growing evidence that children traveling to and from destinations for hours a day are causing widespread harm. We need the equivalent of “seat belt” legislation for children’s use of social media.
“Parents are in an impossible situation over whether to exclude their children from social media or expose them to harm and addiction to the content. “Countries around the world are taking bold action and our children are at risk of being left behind.”
Keir Starmer, the prime minister, has said he is against “simply banning” mobile phones for under-16s, as some campaigners have suggested, but said there was a “serious question” about what they should be allowed to access. .
“Every parent and everyone across the country is concerned about what can actually be accessed through a phone,” he said in July.
Kyle has previously said he is not convinced by the argument for stricter regulation of phones in schools and said principals are already taking action.
But he also told the Sun: “There is nothing I rule out when it comes to keeping children, women and girls safe in our society. “I am looking at the international evidence.”
The Online Safety Law passed by the previous government has some provisions that impose obligations on online platforms to protect the safety of children, but they are not yet fully in force. Ofcom, the communications regulator, is in the process of producing guidance.
Key provisions of the new bill include raising the Internet age of adulthood from 13 to 16, which would change the age at which companies can obtain data consent from children without parental permission, a measure intended to make it difficult for companies to promote addictive content for children. using your data.
It would make bans in schools a legal requirement by making existing guidance legal. It would also give Ofcom a specific mandate to protect the interests of children and commit to a review into the sale of mobile phones to under-16s and how technology could be adapted to keep teenagers safer.
Malthouse said there is growing evidence of the impact of smartphones on children that is “deeply alarming”. He added: “Being clear about our expectations of providers and regulators and their duties towards our children has to be a step in the right direction.”
England’s children’s commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, and her predecessor, Anne Longfield, also supported the bill, as did the National Education Union. Former Children’s Minister Claire Coutinho also recently said she hoped the government would go further in regulating children’s smartphone use.
A government spokesman said there were no plans yet to back legislation banning phones in schools.
“The Online Safety Act will introduce strong safeguards for children, preventing them from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content,” they said. “The vast majority of schools already manage mobile phone use effectively, even with bans. Legislating an outright ban would simply remove the autonomy of school leaders who know their students and their communities best.”
MacAlister introduced his bill as a group of charities warned Starmer that his government could be putting lives at risk if it does not expose smaller websites to the strictest possible scrutiny under new online safety laws.
Charities including Samaritans, Mind and the Molly Rose Foundation urged No 10 to designate websites that promote disordered eating or suicide as “category 1” sites subject to greater scrutiny by Ofcom.
However, the regulator has recommended that such sites not receive category 1 status and has instead established dedicated oversight teams to manage “small but risky” services.
