UK under-16 social media ban could reach 150 platforms in March

By Rebecca Stone

Up to 150 platforms could fall under Britain’s social media restrictions for children under 16 when the regulations take effect in March, according to a source close to the government’s talks.

The proposed first tranche could reach YouTube Kids, Lego Play and Spotify. YouTube Kids and other sites had been thought exempt, while Spotify sought assurances that it would remain outside the ban. The scope determines which services face an under-16 ban and which recommendation, commenting and messaging functions they must change.

The working proposal uses a feature-based test rather than a simple list of company categories. Recommendations, user-created material, comments and stranger messaging can pull a service into scope even if its main product is video, games or music.

That design raises the question the industry has pressed hardest: whether a platform can remove a feature without breaking the service itself.

What could the March rules cover?

Sources briefed on the government’s proposals said a substantial expansion could inadvertently ban YouTube Kids and other sites thought to be exempt. The games platform Lego Play could also fall under the regulations.

The regulations are due for cabinet sign-off this week. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to lay them before Parliament in December, with the rules taking effect in March.

Tech companies, industry groups and MPs have been briefed that the working proposal focuses on recommender systems and user-generated content. Ministers are understood to want a catch-all approach that limits workarounds.

Critics of Australia’s social media ban say teenagers have moved to new platforms or found innovative ways to message each other through sites that appear innocuous. Ministers see a broad definition as the way to limit such workarounds.

Spotify could technically fall within the March rules because it offers some user-generated content and recommends music or podcasts. The company has sought assurances that it will not face a ban because it is not primarily a social platform.

One industry source said: “We all share the goal of keeping teenagers safe online. Proposals have to be workable, and a situation where eBay, Lego, YouTube Kids and Spotify aren’t clear whether they comply is unsustainable. Detailed guidelines can’t come soon enough.”

Another said: “The whole internet has a recommender system. The regulation is just too broad. But they want to make it really broad and legally airtight so they can be prepared for any eventuality.”

Why did the government promise exemptions?

When Keir Starmer announced the ban in June, the government said it would keep educational services, e-commerce platforms and music streaming outside the rules. It promised “a narrowly defined list of exemptions to the definitions which will be kept under review.”

The working proposal would make exemptions depend on how a service operates rather than only on the category named in June. Spotify’s mix of recommendations, user-generated content and stranger-conversation functionality makes the company a test of where that boundary falls.

Tech companies are also lobbying the government because removing recommender algorithms would make it impossible for some services to operate. The companies argue that a service cannot remove a feature on which its core product depends while remaining recognizably the same service.

The regulations do not require primary legislation in the House of Commons. They will be tabled as an addition to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.

Could shopping platforms be next?

Ministers are examining a second tranche of regulations in spring that could bring e-commerce platforms such as Vinted, eBay and Depop into scope. The review examines “features and functions,” online safety minister Ian Murray told MPs last week.

On Sunday, Lisa Nandy confirmed in interviews that the government was considering Vinted and other e-commerce sites. On Tuesday, officials held a panicked call with retailers after several strongly contested the plans.

MPs and campaigners told Nandy that teenagers and groomers can find new ways to communicate on services that permit unknown or anonymous users to message one another. That concern places direct-messaging features at the center of the second tranche.

Another industry figure said it would be illogical to continue allowing WhatsApp and iMessage while banning Vinted and eBay because those shopping sites also offer messaging. The comparison captures the difficulty of defining restrictions by features rather than corporate category.

“Platforms that might have been out of scope are perhaps being brought into scope by having new functionalities that we might think are different from the social media platforms we are seeking to regulate. For example, Spotify has introduced stranger conversation functionality to its platform,” Murray said.

The first tranche would put the government’s broader social-media proposal into effect in March. The spring review would then revisit services previously described as exempt, testing whether an under-16 ban remains workable as platforms add recommendation and messaging functions.

How can a platform leave the banned list?

Murray told MPs that platforms could remove themselves from the banned list by redesigning services to eliminate harmful or addictive functions. He said YouTubeKids and LegoPlay would need to demonstrate that they did not have harmful algorithms.

“The way back is to comply with the regulations and fall out of scope. That is an easy thing to say but not an easy thing to deliver, but that is the principle with which we will go forward on this,” Murray said.

Murray framed the off-ramp around stopping harms caused by algorithms, recommender systems, commenting systems and conversations with strangers. He asked:

“Are there ways in which you can stop the harms being created by the algorithms, the recommender systems, the commenting systems or the conversations that can be had with strangers?

If you have created a service that complies with all the regulations, is it then available to under-16s? I would say that currently the government’s position is that, yes, there has to be an off-ramp.”

Tech industry bodies have told the government that YouTube Kids cannot function without its recommender system. They say that makes compliance with the off-ramp impossible, exposing a conflict between the proposed test and the service’s basic operation.

What happens next?

Companies are expected to receive briefings on the final proposal in the coming days from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and No 10. Cabinet approval and a December parliamentary statement precede the March start date, while the second tranche is expected in spring.

DCMS has been approached to comment. The immediate test is whether detailed guidance can identify harmful recommendation, content and messaging features without making compliant services inoperable. The spring review will then determine whether online marketplaces join the restrictions.

The decisive test will be whether final guidance can identify harmful recommendation, content and messaging features without making compliant services inoperable, and whether the spring review extends the restrictions to Vinted, eBay and Depop.