UK proposes law to reduce smartphone addiction in minors
Under a bill, UK authorities intend to regulate the use of smartphones by minors under 16
The UK is studying a bill to reduce the exposure of minors under 16 to addictive content through mobile phones.
The proposal was made by Labour MP Josh MacAlister, who argued that the goal is to “protect children from excessive use of mobile devices and social networks, which are often addictive by design.”
The new regulation called “Safer Phones,” presented last week in the European country, “highlights that social media platforms must exclude teenagers from recommended content algorithms, a measure that aims to limit their exposure to addictive content.”
MacAlister stressed that the bill would raise the minimum age for Internet access from 13 to 16 years, with the requirement of parental approval “so that technology companies can access the data of minors.”
As long as the companies behind social networks cannot use the data of teenagers in their recommendation algorithms, it will be more difficult to show them addictive content.
On the other hand, the independent British communications body Ofcom will monitor the application of user age verification so that minors are not exposed to applications designed to be addictive.
It is important to highlight that the bill “includes prohibiting the use of telephones in educational centers, turning them into mobile phone-free zones to improve the concentration of students.”
On the other hand, it is expected that the country’s authorities will implement “stricter regulations on the design, supply, marketing and use of smartphones for minors under 16 years of age” in favor of the mental health of young people.
M.Pino
Source: nacion
(Reference image source: Daniel Romero in Unsplash)
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