Liz Kendall's statement on children and social media

Liz Kendall's statement on children and social media Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Liz Kendall's oral statement to the House of Commons on Monday 15 June. Madam Deputy Speaker, today marks a defining moment for our children, and future generations. As we lay the foundations for a new settlement for the online world. To ensure children have the best start in life. To give them freedom to be children again. And so we put power back into parents’ hands. Up and down the country parents are grappling with social media. What their children are seeing. How much screen time they should have. Who they are communicating with. And if they are safe. Many children love connecting and interacting on social media. But others struggle with their mental health, concentration and self-esteem. And the police, children’s charities and far too many tragically bereaved families have seen for themselves the serious risks and harm social media brings. While these concerns are widely shared, there are different, often strongly held views about the best way forward. That is why we launched our consultation on growing up in the online world, to make sure everyone’s voices were heard. The response has been overwhelming. We’ve had 116,000 replies. Including 54,000 from parents and 14,000 from children. We’ve heard from charities, teachers’ organisations, the police and medical professionals. And from countless members of Parliament too. Not only the Science and Technology and Education Select Committees, but individual Members including the Hon Members for Plymouth Moor View, Croydon East, Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Dollar and so, so many more besides. The progress report we publish today sets out lots of different perspectives. But overwhelmingly our consultation showed parents and children are concerned about what they’re being exposed to online. Harmful content. Content that is completely inappropriate for their age. Abuse and exploitation. They are worried about the impact on sleep, school, children’s physical health, and their emotional wellbeing too. Above all, parents are crying out for change. 9 out of 10 who responded to the consultation told us they want an outright ban on social media. As did three quarters in our large-scale representative survey and 113,000 parents who signed Daisy and Joe’s Smartphone Free Childhood petition. Keeping children safe online has been my top priority since day one in this job. I’ve listened to calls, especially from bereaved families, that we need to act as quickly as possible. So today I can announce our first steps, with more to come next month. And I can confirm, we will ban social media companies providing their services to under 16s. And we are doing this to give greater protections to children. Greater clarity for parents and carers. And to set a new social norm for future generations. My intention is to lay regulations on a ban, and have a vote on it, by the end of this year. With the ban coming into effect early 2027. We plan to use the same model as Australia, covering: User-to-user platforms that allow users to post material, alongside algorithms. So our ban will include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. Because we want to make sure we don’t include educational services, e-commerce platforms or music streaming, there will be a narrowly defined list of exemptions. Which we will of course keep under review. Madam Deputy Speaker, I have also listened to parents to civil society and to many MPs in this House, including the Members for Putney, Lowestoft, Congleton, and Newcastle upon Tyne about the need to go further. So I can today announce our first steps in restricting a wider range of features and functions that create risks for young people. Because it can open the door to vile child abuse, we will ban livestreaming for under 16s across all platforms. And we will ban communication with strangers, including in gaming, to stop paedophiles meeting and grooming children. And Madam Deputy Speaker we are not stopping there. AI chatbots are a top concern of parents who responded to our consultation, particularly those that mimic intimate relationships and exploit vulnerabilities. The Children’s Commissioner, and my Hon Friends the Members for Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central, have also raised this issue. So today Britain is becoming the first country in the world to ban chatbots that offer sexualised content to under 18s. And we will restrict this functionality on general purpose chatbots too. We know there are also really serious concerns about other AI chatbots, like therapy apps. But I recognise that some of these may have benefits, so I am working closely with the Department of Health, and others, to assess the evidence. And I will come back to the House on this issue - and wider measures on AI chatbots – in a further statement next month. Madam Deputy Speaker, we also want to address concerns about a “cliff edge” when you turn 16 – an age when many young people should be especially focused on their futures, and on exams. So I can today announce live streaming, and stranger communication including in gaming, will be switched off by default for 16- and 17-year-olds. I am also strongly minded to bring in default overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for 16- and 17-year-olds. And I will set out further details once our pilot schemes are finished in my next statement in July. Madam Deputy Speaker, I know that not everybody supports a ban. I have listened carefully to these concerns and want to take each in turn. First, we’ve seen in Australia that many children will try and succeed in getting around a ban. That is inevitable when social media has been such an integral part of their lives. So we will introduce more highly effective age assurance measures to better support compliance, and I have asked Ofcom to share proposals on these within months. However, I want to be clear to parents, and to members of this House, that our ban is as much about helping future generations and resetting social norms in future, as it is about young people today. Second, people worry that a ban would push children onto riskier, less regulated sites. This is something I really take extremely seriously. So I have had a long conversation with and written to Ofcom and the new chair to stress, once again, that enforcement of both the Online Safety Act and our new ban must be a top priority. That they must focus rigorously on this, including riskier sites. And to ask for an urgent review of whether Ofcom has the right capabilities in place. I have also asked them to publish a clear enforcement strategy and an annual report to Parliament on how this strategy is progressing. Third, we must prepare children for the online world, which will inevitably be part of their lives. Now many schools are already doing this. But from September this year, every pupil across England will learn about social media in the classroom, including about AI and how to spot deepfakes. My department has also produced new advice for parents on how to talk to children about the online world called “you won’t know if you don’t ask”. So schools and parents together, preparing children for the future. And last but by no means least, the NSPCC – and the Hon Members for Kettering, Hertford and Stortford and North West Cambridgeshire – have rightly raised the importance of ensuring all young people can access information, trusted support and exciting activities, especially if they’re no longer spending so much time online. And we are delivering on this too. The Education Secretary and Culture Secretary are expanding what’s on offer in every school and beyond the classroom, including in after school clubs, in the holidays and at weekends by support for a wide range of enrichment activities like art, music, sport, cooking, camping and museum visits. Things that were once only available for those who could afford them. Now for every pupil in England. And in stark contrast to Members opposite, who cut youth services by 75% we are investing £500m in our National Youth Strategy – “Youth Matters” – so children from all walks of life, wherever they live, can access youth services, sport and the arts. Madam Deputy speaker, my driving force, the reason I came into politics, has always been, and will always be, to give every child, from every background, the best possible start in life. Because that’s how they and our country succeed. Today we take a decisive step towards creating a safer, healthier life for our children and future generations. Giving children their childhood back. I am clear eyed about all the challenges social media brings – for adults as well as for children – and that technology constantly changes. So today’s announcement is not “one and done”, or the end of the story. There is still much more to do. But this is a landmark day. A day when we stand with parents, charities, bereaved families and all those who have campaigned for change. This is your moment. It is a day when we take power away from the tech giants – who have had countless opportunities to keep children safe and put it in back in parents’ hands. A day when we give our children the freedom to be children again. So they have the best possible start in life. And I commend this statement to the House.