UK may limit children to two hours online a day
THE UK Government is planning a major crackdown on children’s use of the internet with youngsters’ time online being limited.
Ministers there say technology firms would be responsible for limiting how long kids are allowed to stay online.
They said the tech companies would also have to verify the users age with parents before they can open an account with firms such as Facebook and Twitter.
The government in the UK said they need to introduce the online safety plans to tackle the ‘Wild West’ aspect of the internet so parents can be confident their children are safe.
The proposals come as campaigners here won a historic victory this month in the battle to protect children online, with the Dáil setting the digital age of consent at 16.
The campaign to set the digital age of consent at 16 rather than 13 was led by internationally-renowned Irish academics Dr Mary Aiken and Professor Barry O’Sullivan – and championed by the Irish Daily Mail as part of our ‘Protect Our Kids Online’ initiative.
The move in the UK will increase pressure on the Irish Government to take further action to protect our children and to make tech giants take responsibility for verifying users’ ages.
Among the proposals being considered in Britain is a daily online limit for children – with a possible cap of just two hours a day for under-18s. The cap could also cover popular online games, such as Fortnite.
It is understood the length of any limit would be decided following a public consultation this month, but it is likely to be no more than three hours a day, and could be as little as two.
One alternative to this would be to simply offer guidance to parents on daily usage. But the UK Culture Secretary Matt Hancock appears to favour an altogether tougher line, saying: ‘My instinct is that parental controls don’t work unless they have a strong backstop behind them.’
He said ministers were also looking at ways to enforce the age limits that firms such as Facebook and Twitter claim to use.
Mr Hancock said existing age restrictions had ‘no credibility whatsoever’.
A new code of conduct for social media firms, covering issues such as bullying and online abuse, is also going to be put into law in the UK. Firms including Facebook and YouTube will be required to take down offensive material immediately.
The proposals will be backed by the threat of fines of up to £1billion (€1.14billion).
Mr Hancock said: ‘People increasingly live their lives through online platforms, so it’s more important than ever that people are safe and parents have confidence they can keep their children from harm.’
His deputy, Margot James, said big tech firms were failing to deal with abusive material online and added that this was ‘highly irresponsible’.
The Children’s Charities Coalition of Internet Safety in the UK is also demanding a mandatory online safety code backed by an independent regulator.
In a momentous vote in Ireland earlier this month, Opposition TDs threw out Fine Gael plans to let tech firms exploit our children from the age of just 13.
A Fianna Fáil and Labour amendment – backed by Sinn Féin and some Independent TDs – dealt a fatal blow to the Government plan as the Dáil set the digital age of consent at 16.
Meanwhile, the Education Minister Richard Bruton has told schools they must consult students and parents about a smartphone policy as soon as possible.
Mr Bruton’s department issued a circular yesterday to every primary and secondary school, ordering them to decide policy for smartphones and tablets.
The policy will be written into an upcoming Education Bill.