Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to hold a major press conference today as he fights to maintain his position following a difficult week. The announcement comes after warnings that he has lost his authority, particularly after Defence Secretary John Healey resigned.
During the press conference, Starmer will impose a minimum age of 16 for accessing social media services. This decision follows a government consultation that received responses from over 116,000 people across the UK, including 54,000 parents.
The age restrictions, similar to those previously introduced in Australia, will cover platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick. However, the UK measures will go further by also applying to romantic chatbots and certain online gaming apps.
Additionally, there are expected to be limits on screen time for older teenagers to prevent infinite scrolling, where users can continuously pull up new content like videos.
The Prime Minister will deliver the announcement from Downing Street this morning before departing for France to attend the G7 meeting with world leaders. This move is intended to demonstrate that he remains in control of the country despite the possibility of an imminent leadership challenge.
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