UK PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer has announced that children under the age of 16 will be banned from accessing social media.
The move has been billed as a child protection measure.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Starmer said that it is hoped the regulation will pass by Christmas and come into effect early next year.
“This is very significant for our country,” Starmer said. “It is about protecting children, and I’m absolutely clear that a ban is the right outcome.”
Questioned whether children will simply try to find a way around the ban, as some have in Australia, the prime minister said this is likely, but he is confident the UK can enforce it adequately.
“The enforcement will be on the platform providers, not on the children. I think it’s really important that we make that clear. We’re not going to start taking action against 13 and 14 and 15-year-olds who are trying, as they always will, to get around rules that adults put in their path.
“This is absolutely aimed at those who are providing the platforms,” Starmer said.
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