CYP Now - MacAlister bill could see social media companies banned from harvesting under-16s data

MP Josh MacAlister, who authored the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, is urging the government to back a bill which would see social media companies exclude under-16s from algorithms designed to make content addictive to users.

Josh MacAlister is MP for Whitehaven and Workington - UK Parliament

MacAlister is behind the safer phones bill, a private member’s bill set to be discussed in the House of Commons this week, which has been backed by former children’s minister Conservative MP Kit Malthouse and education committee chair Helen Hayes.

The bill would see the age of "internet adulthood" raised from 13 to 16. This would mean under-16s would need a parent or legal guardian's permission to use social apps like TikTok and Instagram.

It would also ban such companies from harvesting the data of under-16s meaning they would not be targeted by content farmed out to users by personalised algorithms designed to keep them on specific sites and apps.

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