Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledges rapid action to regulate tech giants and curb social media addiction, with a potential under-16 ban under consideration.
LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged “rapid” government action to regulate social media companies and curb the platforms’ “addictive nature”.
Speaking at an event in southwest London, Starmer warned the “status quo is not good enough” and criticised the historical pace of legislation in keeping up with evolving technology.
He confirmed the government is prepared to move quickly on a potential ban on social media for children under 16. This move is pending the results of an ongoing consultation.
Starmer highlighted the dangers of compulsive consumption, often called doomscrolling, and the design features that keep users “glued” to their devices.
“We also need to act very quickly, not just on the age concern, but on the devices and applications that mean the sort of auto-scrolling, the constant gluing to the machine that you can never stop scrolling,” he said.
“We have to break that habit to stop the addictive nature,” he added.
The government’s plan includes seeking stronger powers to regulate tech companies more aggressively. Starmer said the era of long delays in tech regulation must end.
“Now we’re taking the powers to make sure we can act within months, not years,” he stated.
The announcement follows a recent investigation by Britain’s data protection watchdog into Elon Musk’s X and xAI companies. The Information Commissioner’s Office launched a formal probe after the Grok AI tool allegedly produced indecent deepfakes without consent.
The investigation followed reports that Grok was used to generate non-consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children.
