©Piotr Cichosz via Unsplash
A new phase in the regulation of the digital world is beginning in the UK. The Keir Starmer-led government has launched a nationwide trial to determine whether it's really necessary to ban access to social media for under-16s.
This initiative comes at a time when addiction to smartphones and digital platforms is a growing concern for families, schools and institutions. Before adopting a definitive law, however, London has chosen another path: listening to citizens, teenagers and parents, gathering opinions and suggestions on how to make the Internet safer for the youngest.
Real-life tests on hundreds of teenagers
The government's project is not limited to a simple public consultation. In the coming weeks, a real-life test will be launched, involving 150 young people aged between 13 and 15. The teenagers will be divided into groups and subjected to different conditions of smartphone use. Some will have to comply with a total ban on social media, others will be allowed only one hour of connection per day, while a third group will be subject to a nightly digital curfew.
During the test phase, several aspects of the participants' daily lives will be closely monitored: sleep quality, emotional state, level of physical activity and ability to concentrate. The aim is to obtain solid, concrete scientific data to identify which measures really work and which are likely to be ineffective or even counter-productive.
A model inspired by Australia
The idea of drastically limiting the use of social media by minors didn't come out of nowhere. It was Australia that paved the way, becoming the first country in the world to introduce a ban on the use of social media before the age of 16. The British proposal could target platforms popular with young people such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. In parallel, the European Union is also seeking to limit certain mechanisms used by digital platforms, notably those designed to encourage endless scrolling and the compulsive consumption of content.
Algorithms, chatbots and age verification
Among the measures being considered in the UK are not just outright bans. The government is also looking at less radical interventions that could prove highly effective. One proposal would be to force platforms to disable features such as auto-play or infinite scrolling, two tools that keep users connected for hours on end without interruption. At the same time, there's talk about strengthening age verification systems, which are often easily circumvented.
Another issue concerns the use of chatbots based on artificial intelligence, which are increasingly present in teenagers' daily lives. Some experts fear that minors will develop excessive trust in software programs designed to simulate human conversations.
Consultation closes on May 26
The public consultation will remain open until May 26, 2026, and will be used to gather opinions and useful data with a view to drawing up a future legislative framework. For the British government, the challenge is to strike a balance between the protection of minors and digital freedoms. While technology can be a wonderful tool for learning, creating and communicating, its constant presence risks becoming a form of invisible dependency. And it's precisely from this balance that one of the most important digital reforms of recent years could be born.
Source : GOV.UK
(©GreenMe.it 2026/Managing editor: Selma Keshkire - The Press Junction/Picture: Piotr Cichosz via Unsplash)