A Bill to provide greater protection for the rights and best interests of children engaging with digital services, in particular through the use of smartphones and other internet-enabled portable devices.
A Bill to provide greater protection for the rights and best interests of children engaging with digital services, in particular through the use of smartphones and other internet-enabled portable devices.
The full Bill will be drafted in the coming weeks ahead of its Second Reading in Parliament but I am proposing for it to contain four main provisions:
Raising the age of internet adulthood from 13 to 16, by raising the age at which companies can get data consent from children without parental permission. This will make it harder for companies to push addictive content to children by using their data to feed algorithms, and it will give greater powers to parents.
Delivering smartphone free schools, by backing headteachers with a legal requirement that all schools should be mobile free zones. This would be done by putting existing guidance on a statutory footing.
Strengthening Ofcom’s powers to protect children from apps that are designed to be addictive. This would mean giving Ofcom a specific mandate to protect children’s interests and new powers to require tech companies to implement effective age verification and enforce a code of conduct to prevent children being exposed to ‘addictive by design’ apps and services.
Committing Government to review further regulation if needed of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by children under 16.
I’ll be holding a consultation and a series of Bill hearings with experts to shape the detailed content. Subscribe to receive updates below and I will be in touch!
Raising the age of internet adulthood from 13 to 16, by raising the age at which companies can get data consent from children without parental permission. This will make it harder for companies to push addictive content to children by using their data to feed algorithms, and it will give greater powers to parents.
Delivering smartphone free schools, by backing headteachers with a legal requirement that all schools should be mobile free zones. This would be done by putting existing guidance on a statutory footing.
Strengthening Ofcom’s powers to protect children from apps that are designed to be addictive. This would mean giving Ofcom a specific mandate to protect children’s interests and new powers to require tech companies to implement effective age verification and enforce a code of conduct to prevent children being exposed to ‘addictive by design’ apps and services.
Committing Government to review further regulation if needed of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by children under 16.
I’ll be holding a consultation and a series of Bill hearings with experts to shape the detailed content. Subscribe to receive updates below and I will be in touch!
Sign up for latest news and updates about the Bill