Under-16 social media ban raises privacy, safety and secrecy concerns

Photo by Berke City, Unsplash

Written by Evie Steward

The UK government’s proposed social media ban for under-16s has raised concerns that young people could secretly bypass the rules, putting safety and privacy at risk.

The Online Safety Act 2023 already requires companies to take steps to stop children seeing harmful content. Several charities and groups, including the NSPCC, warn that a full ban could have “unintended consequences” and said existing child safety laws should be enforced more strongly instead, from a BBC article by Paul Seddon.

Eighteen year old Paige Crawford said: “I don’t think teenagers will follow this ban and I think we’ll find ways around it which makes everyone more secretive than they were before which can be dangerous.” Crawford also said: “I don’t think it’s a protection thing, but a control moves as it gives them power over us.”

Ofcom data shows that 96% of 13- to 15-year-olds have a social media profile, while a House of Commons Library briefing found that most children in that age group also own a smartphone.

Lila McKenna, 21, said: “I do believe it would slightly improve however I think that it will cause a surge in younger people to hide their accounts and become secretive with it.”

Zoe Venning-Pridham, a concerned parent, said: “Social media is addictive, we don’t let them have other addictive substances or practices, why would we allow this?”

The government is considering limits on features that encourage children to spend long periods online. Schools are expected to be phone-free, with Ofsted inspectors checking that mobile phone rules are enforced.

“The genie is already out of the bottle so to speak, it’s very difficult to take back something that is already in existence, but not impossible,” said Venning-Pridham.

Ministers say the proposal is intended to reduce children’s exposure to harmful content and addictive platform features. Under the plans, social media companies would be required to introduce stronger age-verification measures, potentially including official identification checks before accounts can be created.

“Social media gives them access to content that is also not age appropriate without proper controls. They can watch material that could be damaging,” said Venning-Pridham.

Lila McKenna, 21, said: “A lot of my friends when I was growing up had social media and they would all be nervous about posting because of how others would see them and I think it’s unhealthy.”

As the government considers its next steps, the debate is no longer only about enforcing rules. It now focuses on how to improve online safety and helping parents, schools and policymakers to implement this.