The UK Government, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is considering the possibility of limiting social media access for teenagers under the age of 16, preventing them from online harm and potential child abuse.
The main focus for the government is to look at ways for parents to protect their children rather than making restrictions on anything, as it finds more options other than the Online Safety Act.
As reported by Bloomberg, a consultation on the matter would start next year with the aim of investigating potential harm to the children.
Many charities and campaigners had called out for more attention on the matter and asked the government to regulate stronger laws for online safety.
The National Crime Agency sent warnings to all the parents as Meta, the company that owns Facebook, had launched methods to send encrypted messages, designed to protect users’ privacy. However, the introduction of the encrypted messages by Meta stopped the company from being able to observe what users shared with one another, which allowed child abusers to spread more harm to the children.
Authorities, such as Chris Philp, the policing minister, referred to Meta for being grossly irresponsible and demanded the company for immediate reversal of its decision.
