First it is not any kind of a decision. It is just an initial response by a minister based on the results of a consultation with the public. He highlighted three possible features that seem high priority to tackle: stranger pairing on gaming platforms (that kids can chat with people they don’t know), infinite scrolling, and location tracking. This is based on what the public told the government they want looked at.
The online safety minister Kanishka Narayan … told The Sunday Times that the “particular feature around stranger pairing” — meaning an adult’s ability to contact a child they don’t know — was an issue he heard about “mostly in the context of gaming platforms”.
“So that will weigh quite significantly in my mind as we think about how we stop some of the most egregious harms for young people,”
…
Alongside stranger pairing, the minister criticised infinite scrolling, a design feature used by almost all social media companies where new content automatically loads as a user approaches the bottom of a page, creating the illusion of a never-ending feed. The third feature he raised concerns about was location tracking, which can be used by parents to keep a virtual eye on children, but is also abused by predators.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/social-media-ban-kanishka-narayan-l0brjnvvb
If they did make this decision probably the likes of Roblox in the UK only would need to remove the ability to talk to strangers from conversations with people who are under 16 or who don’t age verify (or whatever age the government decides is appropriate based on the consultation).
The background here is that the UK government asked for consultation on how best to protect kids. It consulted on a range of possible measures. There is nothing here to suggest its conclusions. They will take some weeks to review the consultation and then come to a decision later this summer.
The UK government asked many people to comment on the various measures. One of the many proposals it asked the public to comment on was an age limit such as in Australia. In Australia then kids under 16 can’t use adult social media. But that was just one of many options to help protect kids. Nothing specific about gaming.
The consultation closed on 26th May.
Technology is part of most children’s lives from an early age. It can help children learn, build friendships and develop creativity. But it also brings risks, and many parents, teachers and young people have told us the current situation is not working well enough.
Social media use among children and adolescents is almost universal. The proportion of children with social media profiles has increased significantly in the last 5 years. We must ensure children can engage with the online world safely, and that parents and carers feel confident to support and empower their children online.
This consultation is the next step in the government’s work to ensure children’s experiences online are safe and enriching. We want to understand how technology impacts children’s wellbeing, and what more we can do to help families strike the right balance.
…
What we consulted on
The consultation considered how children use digital technology as well as measures including:
setting a minimum age for children to access social media - and what age would be right
restricting risky functionalities and design features that encourage excessive use, such as infinite scrolling and autoplay
whether the digital age of consent should be raised
how age verification and age assurance technologies can support effective implementation
whether the guidance on the use of mobile phones in schools should be put on a statutory footing
better support for parents, including clearer guidance and simpler parental controls
Who we wanted to hear from
We welcomed responses from everyone, including children and young people, whose voices are central to this process. A dedicated version of this consultation was published for children, and a separate version for parents and carers. We also heard views through a series of national events.
There were 3 surveys to choose from.
A full consultation for anyone (civil society, industry and members of the public)
Survey for parents and carers of young people aged 21 and under
Survey for children and young people (aged 10 to 21)
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
It goes on to say
What happens next
This consultation closed on the 26 May 2026. The government has committed to taking swift action on its findings. On 16 February 2026, the Prime Minister announced new legal powers to allow the government to act swiftly after the consultation response, without waiting for new primary legislation. We will publish our response in summer 2026.
On that last point, the UK government has power to act on this through a method called Statutory Instruments. These are a bit like US executive orders but our prime minister is seen as acting for parliament a bit like the US Speaker of the House and so statutory instruments have to be approved by the House of Commons.
The House of Lords can also object which leads to the House reconsidering it.
Statutory instruments are almost never rejected by either chamber but it means the government has to draft something that a majority in the parliament would accept.
QUOTE
Parliament can either approve or reject an SI, but cannot amend it. Parliament’s role in considering an SI varies depending on what is stated in its parent Act.
The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments (JCSI) checks SIs to make sure the law they contain is clear and follows the powers given by the parent Act.
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/secondary-legislation/
So it’s like if in the USA every presidential executive order had to be approved by a majority in the House.
Because we don’t have a president we just have the leader of a party. So the final decision is made by the government not by the prime minister.
On why it’s needed now see:
BLOG: Why we need age verification online
— why all this is happening now and not a decade ago
— because many more kids are online
— for the same reason we check ages for driving licences and buying alcohol
You can read it here:
https://robertinventor.substack.com/p/why-we-need-age-verification-online
