Social media, used by billions of people from seven to seventy, can be used for people to share snapshots of their lives. However, from time to time, we can also see harmful content circulating on these platforms.

Some countries impose important obligations on social media providers for this situation. But this can sometimes be insufficient. According to the latest developments, the UK will limit the use of social media for children.

Social media ban for children on the agenda in the UK

The UK has recently introduced the Online Safety Bill. This law obliges social media platform providers to remove harmful content. Companies that fail to do so can be fined up to 10 percent of their revenue.

According to the latest developments, the UK will not stop with just this law to protect children from harmful content. According to some sources, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is planning to introduce a social media ban for under-16s. This plan has been the subject of debate in the UK.

According to a key source, the government plans to investigate the potential risks of children’s social media use early next year. The outcome of this research will determine whether social media should be banned for those under the age of 16.

A government spokesperson said in a statement that instead of imposing such a restriction, they are looking for ways to give parents responsibility. In other words, according to this statement, banning is of secondary importance.

In fact, taking more measures to prevent children from seeing harmful content while using social media has been discussed since 2017. Various foundations and associations play an important role in these discussions.

In the event of a social media ban for children, there has been some debate on social media about how to monitor the implementation of the ban. Many people think that such a ban cannot be widely implemented and therefore different measures should be taken.