No online platform gets ‘free pass’ when it comes to child safety, says Starmer

The Prime Minister was speaking as he set out plans to bolster the protection of young people online. NewsUKUK PoliticsNo online platform gets ‘free pass’ when it comes to child safety, says StarmerThe Prime Minister was speaking as he set out plans to bolster the protection of young people online.David Lynch Sunday 15 February 2026 22:30 GMTBookmarkBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoveropen image in gallerySir Keir Starmer and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall have hailed plans by the Government to bolster online safety (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Archive)Your support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. 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We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreNo online platform will get a “free pass” when it comes to children’s safety on the internet, Sir Keir Starmer has said, ahead of setting out new plans to prevent harms.Children could be prevented from using virtual private networks (VPNs) to illicitly access pornography, and limited from speaking with online chatbots under proposals being floated by the Prime Minister to bolster online safety.The Government also plans to consult on banning children from social media, and restricting infinite scrolling.Sir Keir will meet parents and young people on Monday to insist that the Government will do all it can to keep children safe online.The Government is vowing to close legal loopholes which have allowed chatbots to create deepfake nude images, and is planning further curbs on social media.This follows the war of words between ministers and Elon Musk earlier this year, after his Grok AI chatbot – embedded into the social media site X – was used widely to make fake nude images of women.Ahead of launching the consultation, the Prime Minister said: “As a dad of two teenagers, I know the challenges and the worries that parents face making sure their kids are safe online.“Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up. With my Government, Britain will be a leader, not a follower, when it comes to online safety.“The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass.“Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk, and laying the groundwork for further action.“We are acting to protect children’s wellbeing and help parents to navigate the minefield of social media.”The consultation into new social media protections will launch in March and be guided by what parents and children say they want to see.Ministers also plan to introduce powers through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to speedily change the law in reactions to changing online behaviours.Elsewhere, amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill will be used to ensure chatbots protect users from illegal content.Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “I know that parents across the country want us to act urgently to keep their children safe online. That’s why I stood up to Grok and Elon Musk when they flouted British laws and British values.“We will not wait to take the action families need, so we will tighten the rules on AI chatbots and we are laying the ground so we can act at pace on the results of the consultation on young people and social media.“We are determined to give children the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future at time of rapid technological change.”The Crime and Policing Bill will also be updated to include measures which will preserve children’s social media and online data, as called for by the campaign group Jools’ Law.The campaign was started by Ellen Roome, when questions about the death of her 14-year-old son Jools could not be answered as records of his digital activity could not be accessed.Lord Nash, a Conservative former minister who has been campaigning in the Lords for tighter social media controls for children, welcomed the adoption of Jools’ Law by the Government.He added: “However, we have a moral duty to try and ensure it is never needed in future by avoiding future tragedies.“There are too many children who are still being catastrophically harmed by social media every day, and this announcement will not prevent that. This consultation is just delay dressed up as process.“Instead of more deliberation, the Government must raise the age limit to 16 for th