Starmer vows to fast-track social media law but says under-16s ban not definite

Prime minister says action will be taken on young people's social media access in'months, not years' What social media restrictions has Keir Starmer announced? Keir Starmer has pledged action on young people's access to social media in "months, not years", while saying this did not necessarily mean a complete ban on access for under-16s. Speaking at an event in London after the government promised to extend the crackdown to AI chatbots that place children at risk, Starmer said the issue was nuanced and that a ban was not definite, noting concerns from charities such as the NSPCC. "I think this is such an important issue that we need to go into it with a ban as a possibility," he told a community hub in Putney, saying he would "definitely want to look at the evidence" gathered during a three-month consultation. He added: "There are powerful arguments on both sides. Some people simply say just get all under-16s off social media, and that's the end of it. NSPCC, obviously an organisation very concerned with children's protection, says no, it'll push children to even darker places. "Others - I was with young people this morning, 15-and 16-year-olds who are actually going to be affected by this - they said to me, look we get our news from social media, we don't read the papers, and therefore you'll stop us accessing the news.