Sir Keir Starmer is taking a fresh stand against Elon Musk and other US tech giants with a vow to usher in greater protections for children online as the UK takes a step closer to a social media ban for under-16s.
The Prime Minister will say in a speech to parents on Monday that no online platform will get a “free pass” under the Government’s plans to bring in more and tougher new laws on social media.
As part of the measures, ministers will introduce powers enabling them to fast-track changes to social media laws, including bringing in an outright ban on the sites for certain age groups and changes to addictive functionality in the technology, such as infinite scrolling.
It comes after ministers signalled plans last month to ban social media platforms for users under the age of 16, to consider raising the age of consent for data to be collected by big tech firms and to block technology that promotes “addictive or compulsive use”.
The i Paper understands that the Cabinet is split over the introduction of a full ban on social media, with the Prime Minister previously believed to have reservations about such a move.
But insiders have said that with support for a ban among Labour backbenchers so strong, and Starmer’s position further weakened after recent events, an outright ban for under-16s is the most likely outcome.
In recent weeks, Spain has announced plans to adopt a ban, with France, Austria and Denmark also looking at following Australia, which first outlawed the sites for under-16s.
Children could also be prevented from using virtual private networks (VPNs) to illicitly access pornography, and limited from speaking with online artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots under proposals to bolster safety online.
The plans will form part of a consultation due to be launched in March, which will also seek to prevent tech firms from deleting deceased children’s social media data unless it is not relevant to their death. It would mark a significant win for bereaved parents, who are blocked from gaining access to their children’s social media accounts.
Downing Street sources hope the Prime Minister’s decision to confront the Silicon Valley giants will strengthen his grip on power following a week when he was nearly toppled over his handling of recent scandals.
Starmer stood up against Musk over his AI tool, Grok, which enabled users to create images that undressed women and children to show them in bikinis, and forced the billionaire to back down.
The Prime Minister has now vowed to close legal loopholes which have allowed chatbots to create deepfake nude images, and is planning further curbs on social media.
Ahead of announcing the plans, the Prime Minister said that as a father of two teenagers “I know the challenges and the worries that parents face making sure their kids are safe online”.
He added: “Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up. With my Government, Britain will be a leader, not a follower, when it comes to online safety.
“The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass.”
He said his government will close other loopholes that “put children at risk”, and lay the groundwork for the Government to take further action.
As part of this, ministers intend to introduce new powers through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is making its way through parliament, to enable the Government to quickly change the law in response to changing online behaviour.
The Government will also amend the Crime and Policing Bill to ban chatbots from providing illegal content where they are not covered by the Online Safety Act.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “I know that parents across the country want us to act urgently to keep their children safe online. That’s why I stood up to Grok and Elon Musk when they flouted British laws and British values.
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“We will not wait to take the action families need, so we will tighten the rules on AI chatbots and we are laying the ground so we can act at pace on the results of the consultation on young people and social media,” she added.
But the Tories criticised the pace of action being taken by the Government.
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said: “This is more smoke and mirrors from a Government that has chosen inaction when it comes to stopping under-16s accessing social media. Claiming they are taking ‘immediate action’ is simply not credible when their so-called urgent consultation does not even exist.”
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