Starmer to confirm social media ban for British teens ahead of G-7

The British public favours a social media ban for teenagers, despite concerns around its enforcement. (PHOTO: REUTERS)

Source: The Straits Times

Keir Starmer will start a crucial week for his premiership by announcing a package of strong restrictions designed to protect British teenagers from online threats.

Britain’s Prime Minister is expected on June 15 to confirm a ban on under-16s using major social media platforms, as well as other measures including curfews for older teenagers and tough regulations on chatbots.

He will then depart for a Group of Seven (G-7) summit at Evian-les-Bains, France, where he faces awkward questions following last week’s resignation of his defence secretary and uncertainty around the UK’s military budget.

A ban on young teenagers using social media is popular with the British public, despite concerns around how effectively it can be enforced. The Labour government’s new range of restrictions – including some against chatbots and online games – will go further than laws in Australia, according to a person familiar with the situation, where a ban on social media for teens came into effect in 2025.

“This is a choice about whose side we’re on: families across the country, or a status quo that isn’t working,” Starmer said in a statement late on June 14.

Starmer was criticised at the weekend by the father of a teenage girl who took her life in 2017 after being exposed to harmful online content. Ian Russell told the BBC it would be “deplorable” if the Prime Minister had rushed out the ban as part of a policy blitz before he faces a likely leadership challenge.

A public consultation on how to protect young people closed less than three weeks ago, and some of Starmer’s Cabinet colleagues believe the government’s decision to go with a full social media ban for U16s was rushed ahead of the June 18 by-election, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The opposition Liberal Democrats accused the Labour leadership of “rushing through a half-baked policy just to secure a political legacy”.

Starmer’s primary rival Andy Burnham is expected to win a parliamentary seat at the June 18 special election in Makerfield, north-west England.

If Burnham defeats Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, he is likely to challenge Starmer, raising the prospect of a summer contest for the keys to No. 10 Downing Street.

Starmer’s team is trying to regroup following the resignations of secretary of state John Healey, junior defence minister Al Carns and two ministerial aides last week. Healey said Starmer had failed to secure enough of a spending boost for the military, in the light of heightened threats from Russia and other adversaries.

However, Lisa Nandy, the British culture secretary, said on June 14 that the government had not finished trying to find savings from other departments in order to bulk up Britain’s defences.

“Negotiation is happening as we speak,” Nandy told the BBC, suggesting that Starmer had decided to look for more money.

A larger budget increase would help Starmer meet promises he made to Britain’s allies but, coming after Healey’s resignation, risks exposing the premier to accusations of another U-turn.