A social media ban for under-16s would have unintended consequences including online age verification of all UK users, privacy rights campaigners warn.
Big Brother Watch Director Silkie Carlo said: “The only way to ban children from social media is through mandatory online ID checks for us all, adults and children alike.
“The government would have to choose between mandatory ID checks, biometric age guesstimates or AI behavioural surveillance to estimate internet users’ ages.
“All of the online age verification options are highly invasive and the biometric and behavioural profiling options are highly inaccurate, meaning IDs will be required in many millions of cases regardless.
“Parliament should reject calls for a social media ban and focus on supporting parents and schools to help children use the internet in a positive and healthy way.”