London, June 15 (IANS) UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday announced that he would ban access to social media for children aged below 16 years, terming it a "big step" for the country. Starmer said the government plans to pass regulations before Christmas and protections expected to come into force in Spring 2027.

While making the announcement, Starmer noted that social media is making children of the UK "unhappy and unsafe" and that their children deserve better. He stated that the decision to ban access to social media for children aged below 16 years was taken after looking at the evidence.

In a video shared on X, Starmer said, "Every parent wants the best for their kids. And that's what being a parent means. And for me, for my two kids, all I've ever wanted, hand on heart, is for them to be safe and for them to be happy and the rest is up to them. But you know, I think back to when I was growing up, and I have to say, I think we had it easier. These days, kids have to find their feet in a world that changes so quickly, where technology intrudes into every area of their lives. And we know that harms them. The response from parents in the consultation has been absolutely clear. Thousands of parents say their children are addicted to social media. It can leave them trapped in a cycle of endless scrolling that displaces play, sleep, and time with the family."

"It can harm their mental health and frankly, parents need our support on this. That is why today the government has decided to ban social media access for children under 16. It's a big step for our country. Now, it's not an easy thing to do. I'll be honest about that. We haven't rushed into it. We've looked carefully at the evidence and we'll have to adapt our approach as technology changes. Learn from other countries which are taking similar steps and it's fair to say that this decision has been resisted and it will face resistance from some of the most powerful companies in the world. But we will take them on and we will win because the need for action could not be any clearer. Social media is making our children unhappy and unsafe. And as a parent as much as a Prime Minister, I just can't let that go on any more because our children deserve better. They deserve a happy, safe childhood in a stronger, fairer Britain," he added.

According to the statement released by the British government, the UK authorities plan to use the same model for a social media ban as Australia. The ban will include social media platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X while messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal have been excluded from the ban.

In the statement, the UK government said, "So-called AI ‘romantic companion’ chatbots – designed to simulate sexual relationships or roleplay with users – will have to enforce a minimum age of 18. Similar intimate functionalities will be restricted for under-18s on AI chatbots more widely."

The UK government's announcement comes after one of the biggest national conversations held by the government, with over 116,000 responses submitted by parents, children and experts across the country. The responses showed people's support for tougher action, according to the statement. Nine in 10 parents said they would back a social media ban for children aged below 16 years. Most of young people also supported action, with two-thirds agreeing that children aged below 16 years should not be allowed to use at least some social media platforms.

--IANS

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