Plans to make phone use safer for children watered down

The draft law that proposed the ban on smartphones in schools and destroyed algorithms aimed at young teenagers to obtain government support was heated.

Labor MP Josh Mcalaster, who brought the private member bill, told MPS during a parliamentary debate on Friday that reducing the use of a smartphone in the law would be a “process”, not a single “Big Bang” event.

The proposed legislation calls for the government to say within a year whether to raise the age of digital approval from 13 to 16 – which means that companies cannot receive children’s data without permission from parents until this age.

The Minister of Data Protection and Communications Chris Bryant said that the recommendations of the draft law “are very scattered with what we intend to do.”

The bill also says that parents need more guidance about the use of a smartphone by children and urges the government to reach a plan to discuss the impact of social media use on children within 12 months.

Bryant said that his administration had asked the University of Cambridge to conduct a feasibility study on the impact of smartphones and social media – and that he would work on the “same schedule” that the bill was calling.

He added that the measures are from Online safety law It is scheduled to be implemented in the coming months, which would help protect children online. The law puts an obligation on social media companies to protect children from harmful content.

Bryant concluded his speech by informing the deputies, “The failure is not an option” for the government, adding that “it is not the end of the matter.”

The discussion was postponed on the draft law until July 11.

Member draft laws in the law rarely enter without government support, but it is an opportunity for participants to raise the level of the case.

When the legislation was initially proposed in October, he set plans to give the main teachers Legal support to make schools freeAnd promoting Offcom’s powers to prevent children from exposure to applications and services “addiction to design”.

In a discussion on Friday, Conversal Kit Maltesse, the former Minister of Education, told the House of Commons that the watering down had reached “overcoming what could be a historic bill.”

He said that parents “scream for help” from legislators, and that “this government, like it, has led to mitigating, mitigating and naming” on this issue.

When asked about the changes, Macalister, a former teacher, said he was “working closely with the government to” offer “practical measures”, and he was “optimistic” ministers supporting him.

In response to criticism of the draft law in Parliament, Macalister said it is important for deputies to make progress in the case “every possible opportunity.”

There were increasing calls to restrict smartphones for children, including local schools that combine their phone’s policies and parental groups that join the delay of giving her child a smartphone.

However, some of those who support smartphones say they provide opportunities for the development of the child, including social media, and there is little evidence that supports the restrictions of devices in schools.

Macalister, Labor Representative of Whitehaven and Workington, said that the proposal to ban smartphones in schools had been dropped from the bill after the government indicated that “nothing they were thinking about.”

The safest phone bill calls for:

• Senior medical officials to provide guidelines about the use of smartphones and the use of social media by children within 12 months
• The Minister of Education to find a plan to discuss the impact of social media use on children within 12 months
• The government returns within a year to clarify whether it will raise the age of digital approval from 13 to 16

A previous version of the draft law in October 2024 included proposals originally for:

• A legal condition for all schools to be areas free of mobile devices
• Online age companies can obtain data approval from children without permission from parents who will be raised from 13 to 16
• Offcom’s powers are enhanced so that you can impose a code of behavior to prevent children from exposure to applications and services “addiction by design”
• More organization to design, market and use mobile phones under 16 years, if necessary

Joe Riri, the leader of the childhood -free childhood campaign, said that the final rulings on the draft law “were not anywhere near enough.”

Liberal Democrats accused the government of making “heavy progress” in this case, and the ministers suggested that they succeed in pushing the bill “to mitigate.”

“He wanted this campaign to be a campaign to persuade to put this issue in the National Discussion Center and to introduce this discussion in Parliament.”

He added: “I think what we will see in the government’s response to the bill is that they are ready to take some positive steps forward in this case and that they are committed to more work and I think this is really positive.”

Friday’s discussion comes in the House of Commons, where a report suggested that the majority of young people support the idea of ​​setting tougher rules on social media, where more than 60 % said they believe it harms more than benefit.

The study, from Think Tank, included Britain Project and the new polling company, surveying more than 1,600 people between the ages of 16 and 24.

It found that three quarters were needed that there are stronger rules to protect youth from harm on social media, and social media was named as the most negative impact on the mental health of adolescents.