By unusuma.lk on (LK time)
The UK Government is looking into bringing in stricter online safety steps to control the time children spend on social media, the BBC has learned.
Suggestions include a two-hour limit for using each social media app and a 10:00 PM cut-off time, as first reported by the Sunday People and the Mirror.
Speaking on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said he is reviewing the “addictive behaviour” of certain apps and smartphones, when asked about possible time limits.
However, an online safety activist has blamed the government for taking too long to introduce laws that protect children.
Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly died by suicide at 14 after seeing harmful content online, said: “Every day the government waits to bring in stronger online safety rules, more young lives are lost or hurt due to weak rules and lack of action by big tech firms.”
Mr Russell, who supported the previous government’s Online Safety Act, said only “tougher and more proper” laws will truly fix unsafe platforms and business models that value engagement more than safety.
“Parents across the country would welcome it if the Prime Minister took bold action to stop the huge harm children face online. But quick fixes won’t solve the issue,” he added.
Kyle told the BBC he had not spoken openly about the government’s plans because the Online Safety Act passed by the earlier Conservative government in 2023 has not yet been fully applied.
“This year we’ve had rules for removing illegal content. But from July, platforms must provide age-appropriate content, or face legal punishment,” Kyle told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
He added that he’s been studying what the government must do to “tighten safety measures,” “define what a healthy online life for children looks like,” and “remove the roadblocks” to reaching that goal.
Curfews and screen-time limits for apps and overall device use are already available through parental settings on Apple and Google devices.
TikTok added a default 60-minute limit for under-18s in 2023, but it can still be turned off. Instagram allows users to set their own screen-time limits, after which they can choose to block themselves for the rest of the day.
However, it’s unclear how many people actually use these features. In a past speech, Sir Nick Clegg – former public affairs chief at Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) – said parents rarely use these tools.
Some parents say they are confused by the many different settings offered by individual apps and companies.
England’s Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, urged the government to step up efforts to protect kids from digital harm.
She said: “Technology changes very fast, and today’s kids have never lived without the internet. We need a much stronger response to the dangers they face. Children shouldn’t have to protect themselves online.
“If companies can’t make online places safe for kids, they shouldn’t allow them in.
“Any time online is too much if the content is harmful. I continue to ask the government and Ofcom to make the Online Safety Act and Children’s Codes stronger so that companies can’t put profits ahead of safety.”
In January, Kyle told the BBC that internet safety laws were still “unequal” and “not good enough,” after campaigners asked for stricter rules.
The minister shared his “disappointment” with the Online Safety Act, but didn’t say he would change it.
A government source later told the BBC there are no current plans to cancel the act.
One big issue with making legal time limits for children is that most major tech firms are based in the United States.
The Trump administration has been openly against foreign governments trying to control American tech companies or punish them for not following foreign rules.
In 2021, China set strict gaming rules, allowing under-18s to play only one hour per day on Fridays, weekends and holidays. This replaced the older limit of 90 minutes per day and up to three hours on holidays.
They said this was to stop the negative effects of too much gaming on young people.
China later planned more rules like stopping in-game spending and limiting login rewards. But last year, the draft law was quietly removed from the government’s website.