Platforms

European Commission says tech company does not have effective measures to keep under-13s off Facebook and InstagramThe tech company Meta has been found to be in breach of EU law for failing to prevent children under 13 from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.Issuing the preliminary findings of a nearly two-year investigation, the European Commission said on Wednesday that Meta did not have effective measures in place to stop under-13s accessing its services. Continue reading...

UK representatives from Meta, Roblox and TikTok also tell MPs they believe under-16 ban would be ‘unenforceable’Executives from three social media companies have denied their platforms are inherently addictive to children and young people in a combative appearance before MPs in Westminster.Representatives from Meta, Roblox and TikTok faced robust questioning from the cross-party education select committee about the impact of screen time and social media on children. Continue reading...

The government has launched a consultation on banning social media for under-16s but peers voted to move fasterHouse of Lords pushes for Australian-style social media ban for under-16sGood morning. It is going to be a busy political news day, but potentially quite a mixed and messy one. Keir Starmer is in Helsinki for a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (the northern European military pact – the Nordics, the Baltics, the Dutch and the UK), and he has already been speaking to the media. In the Commons it is the last day before the Easter recess, which means it is “take out the trash day” – the trash, in this case, being government announcements that have to be reported to parliament (so they can’t be announced during the recesss), but which have been held back because they’re moderately embarrassing (or sometimes just too dull). There are 24 written ministerial statements (full list here). Few, if any, of these are likely to produce big headline stories, but there should be a lot here for people interested in the workings of government.And, with the parliamentary session also about to end soon (the new king’s speech is expected to take place on Wednesday 13 May), the government is also trying to get all its bills onto the statue book. And it faced a new problem last night after peers voted for a second time to insert a clause into the bill committing the government to an Australian-style social media ban for under-16s.Obviously we’ll study that ruling very carefully, but I’m absolutely clear that we need to go further.The status quo isn’t good enough. We need to do more to protect children. Continue reading...