Bridget Phillipson said nees children in the UK will face restrictions on social media, with the government set to act after its consultation ends on 26 May. The education secretary said the aim is to choose a form of limit that works and lasts, rather than leave the rules fixed before the consultation finishes.
Olivia Bailey told the Commons the government would impose “some form of age or functionality restrictions” for children under 16 even if it stopped short of a ban. She added: “Let us be clear: the status quo cannot continue.”
Phillipson and Bailey
Phillipson said on Times Radio that the question is not whether further action will come, but what shape it will take. “It’s not a question of whether we take further action to protect young people, it’s the shape of that action, what that looks like,” she said.
She also said she was “genuinely open-minded” about the form the limits should take, while stressing that whatever the government puts forward must “stand the test of time” and “be effective.” Her comments point to restrictions that could go beyond a simple ban and could cover how platforms work, not only who can sign up.
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
The government’s amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill passed the Commons by 272 votes to 64 on Monday. The bill now returns to the House of Lords for what looks to be its final consideration before royal assent, after peers voted in favour of opposition amendments on four occasions.
Those amendments would give ministers power to implement a ban in the future, while the current consultation also covers access to AI chatbots and whether age-verification rules should be strengthened. The government is also considering age restrictions for gaming sites and features such as endless scrolling and refreshing, alongside social media.
Online Safety Consultation
The consultation gives ministers until 26 May to settle the shape of the policy, after Keir Starmer told bosses from X, Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google that changes were urgently needed. The existing rules already require social platforms operating in the UK to show their efforts to make children’s experiences safer, but the current debate is about whether those steps should become stricter and more specific for under-16s.
Esther Ghey, John Nash and other campaigners have pushed for stronger controls, including an Australia-style ban, but the government has not set out the exact restrictions it will introduce. For parents and children, the immediate change is that ministers have now committed to action; the remaining question is which tools they choose once the consultation closes.
