Zoe Kleinman
Technology editor•@zsk
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Plans being discussed by ministers include limiting the time children can spend on social media apps
The government is considering introducing tougher online safety measures to limit the amount of time children can spend on social media, the BBC understands.
Proposals include a two-hour cap on the use of individual social media apps and a 22: 00 curfew, as first reported by the Sunday People and the Mirror.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said he was looking at the “addictive nature of some of the apps and smartphones”, when asked whether time limits would be considered.
But an online safety campaigner has accused the government of delaying bringing in new laws to protect children.
Ian Russell, whose daughter, Molly, took her own life at 14 after seeing harmful content online, said: “Every day the government has delayed bringing in tougher online safety laws we’ve seen more young lives lost and damaged because of weak regulation and inaction by big tech.”
Mr Russell, who backed the previous government’s Online Safety Act, said only “stronger and more effective” legislation would “finally change the dial on fundamentally unsafe products and business models that prioritise engagement over safety.”
“Parents up and down the country would be delighted to see the prime minister act decisively to quell the tsunami of harm children face online, but sticking plasters will not do the job,” he added.
Kyle told the BBC he had not been able to speak publicly about the government’s plans to toughen online safety laws because legislation passed by the previous Conservative government in 2023 had yet to be enacted.
“This year we’ve had illegal content that need
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