Keir Starmer is hosting a major press conference as he clings to his job after a humiliating week. The Prime Minister, who faced warnings he had lost all of his authority after Defence Secretary John Healey quit, is announcing an age limit of 16 on social media services
He said under-16s will be banned from a range of social media in a “big moment for our country”, in a Downing Street statement.
It follows more than 116,000 people across the UK, including 54,000 parents, responding to a Government consultation.
Age limits previously introduced in Australia cover services such as TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch and Kick. But the UK restrictions will go further, because they will also cover “romantic” chatbots and some online gaming apps.
There are also expected to be limits on screentime for older teenagers to curb “infinite scrolling,” where users can pull up new content, such as videos, indefinitely.
The Prime Minister is delivering the announcement in a Downing Street press conference before he heads to France for the G7 meeting with world leaders, as he tries to demonstrate he is still running the country despite the prospect of an imminent leadership challenge.
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