• Government plan to protect children from AI risks
• Public consultation considers social media ban for minors

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a strict plan to curb the risks of AI-powered chatbots that threaten children, emphasizing his intention to seek broader powers to regulate minors’ access to the internet.

His office said on Monday that the government will target “vile and illegal content produced by AI technologies” and pursue legal powers to act quickly based on a public consultation that will explore a social media ban for children under 16.

The new powers are expected to reduce parliamentary oversight of future restrictions.

“Technology is evolving at an incredible pace, and the law must keep up,” Starmer said in a statement. “We are taking steps to protect children’s wellbeing and help parents navigate the dangers of social media.”

The measures will require all chatbot providers to comply with digital safety laws, including a ban on creating inappropriate images without consent, following actions against non-consensual images generated by the Grok chatbot on Elon Musk’s X platform.

Starmer’s office explained that the goal of expanding powers is to enable action based on consultation results “within months, rather than waiting years for new legislation every time technology evolves.”

These measures will be introduced as amendments to existing crime and child protection laws currently under parliamentary discussion.

The consultation, starting in March, will consider actions such as setting a minimum age for social media use and banning children from using VPNs to access inappropriate content.

The move comes amid a growing international trend to impose similar restrictions. Australia was the first country to ban children under 16 from using platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, leading to the removal of around 4.7 million accounts belonging to under-16s.

Social media companies in Australia face fines of up to 49.5 million AUD ($33.2 million) if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts of children under 16.

Starmer’s plan has broad support from his Labour Party and the opposition Conservative Party, which also seeks a ban for UK children under 16.

While aimed at protecting children, such measures often affect adult privacy and access to services, and have caused tensions with the US over free speech limits and regulatory authority.

Some websites, like Imgur, which hosts images and memes, blocked access to all UK users last year and displayed blank images after stricter age verification rules, though such geographic restrictions can be bypassed using VPNs.

The UK government confirmed that its child protection consultation will include studying potential restrictions on VPN use.

France is also currently debating social media bans for those under 15, including a bill backed by President Emmanuel Macron, which has passed the National Assembly and awaits Senate approval.