Regulations under consideration could affect up to 150 platforms, including LegoPlay, Spotify and eBay, sources say
A substantial expansion of the social media ban for under-16s could inadvertently lead to a ban on YouTube Kids and other sites that had been thought exempt, sources briefed on the government’s proposals have said.
The ban could also see games platforms such as Lego Play covered by the regulations. One source close to the talks said the regulations now under consideration meant there could be up to 150 platforms now covered by the ban, which is set to come into force in March.
The regulations will be sent for cabinet signoff this week, and the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, is expected to lay them in parliament in December.
Ministers are understood to be keen for a catch-all approach that limits workarounds for the ban. Critics of Australia’s social media ban say teens have switched to new platforms or found innovative ways of messaging using other seemingly innocuous sites.
Tech companies, industry groups and MPs have been briefed that the government’s working proposal focuses on recommender systems and user-generated content.
Spotify – which has some user-generated content and shows recommended music or podcasts – could technically be in scope if those proposals are enacted, though the music streaming site has sought reassurances that it would not face a ban because it is not primarily a social platform.
One industry source said: “We all share the goal of keeping teenagers safe online. Proposals have to be workable, and a situation where eBay, Lego, YouTube Kids and Spotify aren’t clear whether they comply is unsustainable. Detailed guidelines can’t come soon enough.”
Another said: “The whole internet has a recommender system. The regulation is just too broad. But they want to make it really broad and legally airtight so they can be prepared for any eventuality.”
Companies are expected to be briefed on the final proposal in the coming days by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and No 10.
When the ban was announced by Keir Starmer in June, the government said it would ensure the ban did not include educational services, e-commerce platforms or music streaming, saying there would be “a narrowly defined list of exemptions to the definitions which will be kept under review”.
But tech companies are understood to be lobbying the government that removing the recommender algorithm would make it impossible for their sites to function.
The regulations do not require primary legislation in the House of Commons, and will be tabled as an addition to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.
Ministers are also looking at a second tranche of regulations in the spring which could cover e-commerce platforms such as Vinted, eBay and Depop. MPs and campaigners have raised concerns with Nandy that teenagers and groomers can find innovative ways to communicate on platforms that allow unknown or anonymous user messaging, such as those websites.
After Nandy confirmed in interviews on Sunday that the government was looking to bring Vinted and others e-commerce platforms in scope, officials held a panicked call with retailers on Tuesday where several are understood to have strongly contested the plans.
Another industry figure said it would be illogical for the government to continue to allow messaging apps such as WhatsApp and iMessage – but ban platforms such as Vinted and eBay because they had messaging capabilities.
The minister for online safety, Ian Murray, also confirmed to MPs last week that the government was looking at those sites for the next tranche of regulations which examines “features and functions” and is expected next spring.
“Platforms that might have been out of scope are perhaps being brought into scope by having new functionalities that we might think are different from the social media platforms we are seeking to regulate. For example, Spotify has introduced stranger conversation functionality to its platform,” he said.
Murray told MPs that platforms which redesigned their services to remove harmful or addictive functions would have a route to removing themselves from the banned list.
“The way back is to comply with the regulations and fall out of scope. That is an easy thing to say but not an easy thing to deliver, but that is the principle with which we will go forward on this,” he said. He said platforms such as YouTubeKids and LegoPlay would need to demonstrate they did not have harmful algorithms.
“Are there ways in which you can stop the harms being created by the algorithms, the recommender systems, the commenting systems or the conversations that can be had with strangers? If you have created a service that complies with all the regulations, is it then available to under-16s? I would say that currently the government’s position is that, yes, there has to be an off-ramp.”
Tech industry bodies have told the government that platforms such as YouTube Kids cease to function without the recommender system, making it impossible for them to comply with the “off ramp”.
DCMS has been approached to comment.
