The Online Safety Minister has said the dark web is not “inevitable” for teenagers following the UK’s decision to ban under 16s from social media.
Since the ban was announced by Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, concerns have been raised about young people finding dangerous ways to access social media and the internet.
Kanishka Narayan, who sits in the department behind the landmark ban, told The Standard: “One of the things we’re focused on is the existing liabilities and responsibilities on all platforms, and particularly risky platforms.
“They will continue to apply and we want the regulator to be tougher and quicker in stamping those out.
“There is no inevitable risk that young people are going to somehow move on to riskier platforms. We want to prevent that from happening.”
As part of the sweeping reforms, young people under the age of 16 will be prohibited from social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat.
Currently, around 44% of children between 3 and 17 have an account on TikTok, while only 31% claim not to have a social media account, according to Ofcom.
The Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan explained that the ban had been implemented in response to the “intense scale of harm” on social media, including cyberbullying, encouragement of self-harm, child abuse, and impact of screen time.
The UK’s ban is expected to be “tougher” and to “go further” than that of Australia, according to Mr Narayan, who returned from a four-day trip to Australia last month.
While there are plenty of similarities, Mr Narayan said age checks in the UK would be tougher and that the department would examine harmful features on gaming platforms.
As it stands, the ban does not include popular gaming platforms such as Roblox.
Age verification methods will be left for individual platforms to determine, but Mr Narayan said checks have to be “highly effective.”
In some cases, he suggested, existing data will be used while other platforms will use facial recognition like with services such as Apple Pay.
He added that the independent regulator would ensure that all platforms are complying.
Some in the UK have voiced concerns that the social media ban will exacerbate the loneliness epidemic facing teenagers across Britain.
Mr Narayan stressed that the internet was not being banned and so young people would still have access to online services, music streaming, and news websites.
The government is also investing £500 million into supporting “a series of opportunities in art, through culture, through music, and through wider youth support.”
However, the minister did acknowledge that the ban would have “downsides”.
For young creators online who have built careers from social media, he said: “The thing I’d say to them is we would love to support you through the experience of growing up into a context where you can use those skills and those capabilities later in life as well.
“I, of course, am sorry to see anyone lose what they currently really value, but I hope the overall argument that we’ve made about the scale of damage for young people is convincing and assuring.”
The ban is not expected to come into force until early 2027.
