Technology Secretary Liz Kendall – who took over the brief in September’s reshuffle – said she will look at ‘anything’ and do ‘whatever it takes to keep kids safe online’
Children’s access to social media could be limited to two hours per app or restricted during school hours, the new Technology Secretary has signalled.
Liz Kendall said she will look at “anything” and do “whatever it takes to keep kids safe online”. Ms Kendall took over the Science, Innovation and Technology brief in September from Peter Kyle, who is now the Business Secretary.
Mr Kyle had previously suggested the social media restrictions to help tackle kids’ addiction to the online world.
Asked if she was considering bringing forward the proposals, Ms Kendall told The Mirror: “I will look at anything, whatever it takes to keep kids safe online.”
Elsewhere, she urged Ofcom to punish tech firms breaking the Online Safety Act (OSA) – and said she would bring in new legislation if needed to protect kids online. She said: “I think that parents and women and girls want to see Ofcom using its powers to make the online world safe.
How can we seize the opportunities of the future that technology brings if we’re worried that our kids and our daughters are unsafe online. The powers are there. Let’s use them. If I see any gaps in the legislation, I will act.
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“But we’ve also got to make sure that the current powers are used, because I believe that technology can really open doors, especially for young people, help them seize opportunities and possibilities that they would never otherwise have. But in order to do that, they must be safe, and that is my absolute priority in this job.”
Ms Kendall earlier this month sent a blistering letter to Ofcom expressing her deep concern and disappointment over delays to its online safety duties.The Technology Secretary criticised the sluggish pace of the media regulator and said families across the country “have been waiting too long for the protections” under the OSA to be implemented.
It came after Ofcom said it was delaying implementing its new duties, including in relation to hateful and abusive material, until next year.
In July, Ofcom’s new children’s code finally came into force, ordering social media firms to tame toxic algorithms, take faster action on removing harmful content and introduce robust age verification measures. The media regulator had faced heavy criticism for being too slow to implement the OSA, which became law in October 2023.
In June, former tech chief Mr Kyle said he was drawing up plans to stop kids wasting their childhoods doomscrolling on their phones. Talks had focused on curfews and restrictions on accessibility to apps in a drive to tackle a spiralling screen time crisis among teens.
Proposals included a two-hour app cap blocking kids from accessing social media apps, such as TikTok or Snapchat, once they have reached the limit.
At the time, the Cabinet minister told the Mirror: “I have been working really hard on a package of measures that will move online safety forwards under this Labour government, and I can’t wait to start talking about it when I have the opportunity in the not too distant future.
“But I can say right now that my approach will nail down some of the safety challenges that people face online, but also start to embrace those measures that deliver a much healthier life for children online, and that’s what I want young people to have, a developmental safe and nourishing childhood online, just as we strive to for young people offline.”