Government launches consultation on children's social media restrictions and mandates school phone bans
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced that the government launched a consultation and national conversation on children’s use of mobile phones and social media. This is accompanied by immediate action to strengthen and enforce mobile phone bans in schools, with the aim of improving children’s wellbeing and ensuring safer online experiences. The government confirmed that Ofsted will check compliance with mobile phone bans at every school inspection, supported by clearer guidance requiring schools to be phone-free by default and targeted support for schools facing implementation challenges. The consultation will seek views from parents, young people and civil society on further measures, including restricting children’s access to social media, raising the digital age of consent, improving age assurance, limiting addictive design features and introducing phone curfews, informed by international evidence, with a response due in the summer. Ministers stated that these proposals build on existing protections under the Online Safety Act 2023, including mandatory age checks and stronger regulatory enforcement by Ofcom. They also committed to publishing evidence-based screen time guidance for parents of children aged five to sixteen, alongside wider reforms on curriculum, digital and media literacy and the National Youth Strategy to support children’s development and wellbeing online and offline.