On 19 January, the government announced a consultation on children’s use of social media and mobile phones in schools, aimed at protecting young people’s wellbeing and promoting safer online experiences.
The consultation will seek views from parents, young people and civil society, with the first events in a nationwide programme due to take place shortly. The government expects to publish its response in the summer.
Updated guidance for schools will reinforce the expectation that schools operate as phone-free environments, with pupils not having access to mobile devices during lessons, break times, lunch times or between classes.
The consultation will consider a range of measures, including:
- determining the right minimum age for children to access social media, including exploring a ban for children under a certain age
- exploring ways to improve the accuracy of age assurance for children to support the enforcement of minimum age limits so children have age-appropriate experiences and see age-appropriate content
- assessing whether the current digital age of consent is too low
- removing or limiting functionalities which drive addictive or compulsive use of social media, such as ‘infinite scrolling’
- exploring further interventions to support parents in helping their children navigate the digital landscape, for example further guidance or simpler parental controls
Further details of the consultation will be published shortly.