Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has announced that new restrictions on social media for under-16s will be enacted by the end of the year, as a government consultation wraps up. Options on the table include an outright ban similar to Australia’s, though campaigners remain divided on whether that’s the digital equivalent of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Since March, the government has been polling parents and children on measures like app curfews and stronger age checks, even trialing them in some UK homes. “The question isn’t whether we’re going to act - we will,” Kendall told the BBC, adding that the scope includes platforms not covered by Australia’s restrictions, such as Roblox and Discord. Because nothing says “protecting children” like scrutinizing a game where you can be a blocky avatar.

The consultation has drawn 70,000 submissions from charities, campaign groups, and the public, weighing in on bans or other interventions like disabling auto-play and infinite scroll - features that make social media as addictive as a slot machine with better graphics. Some groups, including police leaders, back a ban, while others warn it could fail kids, citing reports of Australian children easily bypassing similar restrictions.

Ellen Roome, whose son Jools died at 14 in 2022, will join other bereaved families to urge Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to raise the age of access to 16. “Social media is a product, and like any other faulty product causing the deaths of children, it should be restricted until fixed,” she said. Lord Nash, a former Conservative education minister, simply urged the government to deliver on its commitment “in the shortest possible timeframe.”

Meanwhile, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has likened social media’s threat to that of smoking, suggesting doctors routinely check screen time during pediatric visits. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, wants age verification handled at the device level - presumably so they can wash their hands of any responsibility. Kendall, undeterred, told the BBC: “No one’s going to stop me from doing what I think is right for this country.”

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