UK Pushes Ban on Social Media for Under-16s, Limits AI Chatbots

The United Kingdom is pushing a new ban forward that would prevent children of age 16 and below from using social media, alongside new limits on chatbots that utilize artificial intelligence.

In January, the UK's House of Lords approved an amendment that would ban social media for children under the age of 16, with the bill passing through the House with a majority of 261-150. The passing of the bill came just over a month after Australia enacted a social media ban of their own, banning its usage for all children under 16.

The bill still requires approval from the House of Commons, which is currently conducting a consultation, but it is likely that the ban will be passed as soon as sometime this year. Nevertheless, the UK government is still yet to define numerous key terms, like which platforms will be considered as social media and which of them will be banned for children.

Spain, Greece, and Slovenia are also looking to follow in Australia's footsteps, with each nation already having expressed interest in enacting a ban against social media for under-16s.

Meanwhile, the UK is taking other actions against AI chatbots, helping to protect the safety of young children. Amid various allegations over inappropriate content on xAI's Grok chatbot, the British government plans to tighten restrictions on chatbots under the Online Safety Act

Passed in 2023, the UK's Online Safety Act is one of the most stringent group of comprehensive technology regulations on the planet, helping to protect minors from illegitimate or inappropriate content online. This includes bans on material promoting self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders, alongside highly accurate age-verification programs to ensure these bans are placed on the correct children.

However, one of the most significant loopholes within this act remained the fact that conversations with AI chatbots were excluded from the regulations– an issue that the British government has vowed to amend.

Officials confirmed that many chatbots were having interactions with children that promoted the aforementioned harmful material, alongside other content like the forming of relationships. The UK's new proposal plans to combat these problems, tightening regulations on chatbots and closing the Online Safety Act's crucial loophole.

Nevertheless, the action has stirred backlash from some adults claiming that the censoring of their content has impacted their privacy and ability to access certain topics online. While some European nations are looking to prevent children from accessing social media, other nations – particularly the United States – have gone in the other direction, advocating for a lack of restrictions to emphasize free speech.

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