UK ministers and Rishi Sunak are planning to launch a survey in early January to gather data about the degree of potential harm to children from social media use, said the individuals, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussion. Have intention.
The UK government, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is examining potential restrictions and other measures to reduce social media use by minors under the age of 16, people involved in the talks said.
Ministers intend to launch a survey in early January to gather data about the magnitude of the potential harm that social media use can cause to young people, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential .
According to the individuals, discussions are still in the early stages, and the policy may not ultimately be implemented. One person said that although restrictions were being discussed, it was unlikely they would be included in the final plan. Another said that options for actions such as a ban or better parental controls had not been ruled out.
At a regular press conference on Thursday, Sunak’s spokeswoman Camilla Marshall declined to comment on specific policies under consideration, telling reporters, “We are looking at this issue of keeping children safe online very broadly.”
The Online Safety Act, which was recently approved in the UK, increases the responsibilities of businesses providing user-to-user services to protect individuals, especially minors, online. This responsibility includes age verification requirements.
The National Crime Agency has issued a warning to British parents over their children’s use of Facebook, following Meta Platform Inc’s move to implement encrypted messaging, raising concerns over their safety. Schools Minister Damien Hinds on Thursday urged Meta to “reconsider its decision”.
“This is not about protecting people’s privacy,” Hinds told Times Radio. “It’s really a question of the ability to stop and ultimately investigate, bring to justice those involved in child abuse.”
On Saturday, Elon Musk is set to attend Giorgia Meloni’s political party conference in Rome, which Mr Sunak will attend. Despite sharing a stage at the UK AI Security Summit last month, Sunak and Musk have not scheduled a formal meeting between the prime minister and the owner of social networking company X, formerly Twitter, according to a person familiar with the matter. Is of.
