The Government has launched a consultation on a proposed social media ban for under 16s.
We’ve created the guide below to help parents and carers respond. You can access the government’s official consultation here: https://survey.savanta.com/?id=a957374a58Sa03ba4b9&lng=en-G
Please note: This blog post only gives guidance on questions related to privacy and civil liberties. We recommend you use a computer to complete this survey and beware that you cannot go back to edit your answers once you click ‘next’.
Step 1: Start the consultation by clicking ‘start survey’
Step 2 – Begin answering survey questions by pressing ‘next’
Q1. Are you a parent or carer of any children under 21?
Choose the option that applies to you.
Q2. How old are you? What is your gender?
Enter your age in the text box provided. Choose your gender from the listed options.
Q3. Where do you live?
Choose the answer that applies to you.
Q4. What is your ethnic group?
Choose the answer that applies to you.
Q5. Please indicate which one of the following best describes the profession of the chief income earner in your household.
Choose the answer that applies to you.
Q6. How many children are you a parent or carer of?
Enter the number of children under your care in the text box provided. You can type the number out if you cannot or do not want to use the slider.
Q7. How old are those child(ren)?
Enter the ages of each of your children in the text boxes provided. NOTE: You must enter the ages in descending order.
See a sample response below:
Q8. What is the gender of your child?
Answer this question as you see fit.
Q9. Does your child have additional needs or disabilities
Choose the option that fits your situation.
Q10. Does your child have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more?
Choose the option that fits your situation.
Q11. Which of the following best describes where you live?
Choose the answer that applies to you.
Q12. If today is Saturday, what day will it be tomorrow? Please type in what day it will be
Enter ‘Sunday’ in the text box.
You’ll now see the following two screens stating that the next couple of questions will be about you/your child’s social media use. Press ‘next’ to continue with the survey.
Note: We’ve noticed that some users may see different screens/questions based on the ages of their children. If you do not see some of the questions listed below it is because your child’s age is different from that of our sample response.
Q13. Does the child aged 15 or under for whom you are responsible for have access to any of the following devices?
Choose an option that applies to you.
Q14. On a typical day, how much time do you think your child spends on social media?
Choose the option that applies to you.
Q15. Thinking about your child’s use of social media, which of these activities do you think your child does less of because of screen time?
Choose the option that applies to you.
Q16. Have you set any rules, agreements, or boundaries about your child’s use of social media?
Choose the option that applies to you.
Q17. How confident do you feel in helping your child stay safe on social media?
Choose the option that applies to you.
Q18. Do you ever feel out of control about the amount of time that you personally spend online?
Choose the option that applies to you.
Q19. In your opinion, what are the benefits of children being on social media?
Copy paste the response into the text box provided. Feel free to personalise this to reflect your own views and experiences.
Our response
Social media can be a valuable route for children to exercise their right to freedom of expression, to receive and impart information on an international platform, and to digitally socialise. Children receive the majority of their news via social media, making it a critical means for civic engagement, just as it is for adults. Further, social media gives children access to resources and opportunities that many cannot access offline. This is especially true for marginalised, isolated, economically disadvantaged, or disabled children.
Social media platforms allow children to explore interests, skills, hobbies, and languages beyond what school offers, connecting them with like-minded peers. For children whose disabilities prevent them from socialising offline, or for those who are the victims of bullying, social media can offer an important source of community. Children suffering from abuse, or other issues they feel too scared to speak about openly can use social media to get in touch with relevant communities, children’s charities and helplines anonymously for advice and understanding.
Social media also allows children to participate in (global) civic discourses about politics and culture. This allows them to explore and question their own beliefs and grow into critical, opinionated and open-minded thinkers. This is particularly important as the government is planning to lower the voting age to 16.
As a parent, I do view restrictions on my children’s screen time and online activities as important for their safety and wellbeing. However, I am responsible for imposing and managing those restrictions, and for teaching my child to develop a healthy and informed approach to social media use. I think that government regulations that would affect the whole country would be inappropriate, wholly ineffective and disproportionate, and I oppose proposals for government-imposed age restrictions on social media and VPN access.
Once you complete your response, click next.
Q20. In your opinion, what are the dangers or risks of children being on social media?
Please fill this out based on your own experiences and opinions. Then, press ‘next’.
You’ll now see a screen explaining that this is a shorter and more accessible version of the full consultation. Press ‘next’.
Q21. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
“Social media platforms should have a minimum age of access of at least 16 and should not be accessible to any children under that age”
We advise selecting the option ‘strongly disagree’ and click ‘next’.
Q22. Would you support it being a legal requirement for social media platforms to have a minimum age lower than 16? If so, what age should it be?
We advise selecting the option ‘prefer not to say’ and click next.
Explanation: Since the Government has not included an option for people to express opinions against a minimum age for social media, ‘prefer not to say’ is the best answer.
Q23. Thinking about you and your family, what do you think the impacts of well‑enforced age restrictions on social media would be? This could deliver similar outcomes to the ‘age classification’ system that currently exists for other sectors such as the film age classification system.
We advise selecting the following options:
- Children might feel excluded or miss out on connecting with friends
- Parents may help children circumvent age restrictions
- Children might try to circumvent the restrictions, for example, by lying about their age
- Children would spend their time instead on other online services which are not captured by the restrictions
- Children might find it harder to access positive support or resources online
- Children might feel less able to talk to trusted adults about worrying content they have seen online
We also recommend selecting ‘other’ to add additional comments:
Other (please specify)
Children would be pushed to less-regulated corners of the internet. Age restrictions would give parents a false sense of security, causing them to pay even less attention to their children’s online activities. Age restrictions will affect all internet users in the UK of all ages, requiring us all to undergo a biometric check o r show our ID to be used with biometric face scan technology or digital ID scans, causing serious friction for 68 million internet users, obstructing access to information, and putting the privacy of adults at risk while doing nothing to protect children online.
Q24. Which, if any, of the following features/functions cause you to worry about your children using social media?
Answer this as you see fit.
Q25. To what extent do you agree or disagree that restricting children’s access to these features/ functionalities, would provide for a safer online experience for children?
As a reminder, the features/ functionalities we are referring to include things like disappearing content, location sharing, sharing personal information and connecting or talking to strangers.
We recommend selecting ‘strongly disagree’. Then, click ‘next’.
Q26. The following platform design features are sometimes known as ‘persuasive’, meaning they may encourage children to stay online for longer. From the following list, please select and rank the three features you think are most ‘persuasive’ to children
Please answer this question using your own judgement
Q27. Which, if any, of the following restrictions to children’s access to online platforms would you support?
We recommend selecting ‘I would not support any of them’ and clicking ‘next’.
Q28. Which of the following options, if any, would you support?
We recommend selecting ‘I do not want any of these’ and clicking ‘next’.
Q29. Which, if any, of the following platforms should restrictions apply to?
We recommend selecting ‘none of the above’ and clicking ‘next’.
Q30. Which, if any, of the following platforms should be exempt from the new rules?
We recommend selecting ‘all of the above’ and clicking ‘next’.
You’ll now see the following screen explaining that the next couple of questions will be about chatbots. Press ‘next’ to continue with the survey.
Q31. What do you think are the benefits of children using AI chatbots?
Choose an answer based on your thoughts and opinions.
Q32. Which AI chatbot features do you think are most risky for children?
Choose 3 options based on your thoughts and opinions.
Q33. Which functionalities of AI chatbots do you think restrictions should apply to?
We recommend selecting ‘none of the above’ and clicking ‘next’.
Q34. Do you agree or disagree that…AI chatbots should have minimum age requirements
We recommend selecting ‘strongly disagree’
Do you agree or disagree that…AI chatbots should have minimum age requirements
We recommend selecting ‘strongly disagree’
You’ll now see a screen regarding ‘information society services’. Click next to continue with the survey.
Q35. At what age do you think the age of digital consent in the UK should be set for information society platforms?
By information society services we are referring to online services like social media, streaming services, search engines and online marketplaces.
We recommend selecting ’13 years old’
Explanation: 13 is the current digital age of consent which is the age at which a child can access online services and agree to a company processing their data. But practically speaking, this has proven impossible to enforce. Changing the digital age of consent alongside the introduction of age-verification technology would allow the Government to ban children under that age from services, while requiring all adults to digitally verify their ages to use it.
You’ll now see a screen regarding age verification. Click next to continue with the survey.
Q36.To what extent do you agree with this statement:
“Adults should complete age checks more often, if it means children are safer online”
We recommend selecting ‘strongly disagree’
Q37. Are you aware of your child ever using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to get around restrictions or blocks on websites or apps due to age restrictions?
Answer this as you see fit.
Q38. To what extent do you agree with the following statement:
“Everyone should go through age checks to access a VPN (Virtual Private Network) if it would prevent children using them”
We recommend selecting ‘strongly disagree’
You’ll now see the following screen discussing mobile use in schools. Press ‘next’ to continue with the survey.
Q39. The UK Government has given advice to schools that says students should not use phones during the school day, except in special cases decided by the headteacher. Right now, schools can choose whether to follow this advice. Do you agree or disagree that the government should make these rules into law, so all schools would have to follow them?
Please answer this question as you see fit.
Q40. Are there specific circumstances where you think children should be permitted to have or use a mobile phone during the school day?
Please answer this question as you see fit.
Q41. Which areas of media or digital literacy do children and families most need extra help with?
By ‘media literacy’ and ‘digital literacy’, we mean the skills and knowledge needed to use the internet and technology effectively, but also responsibly and confidently. This includes knowing how to find reliable information, recognise fake news and advertising, and protect your personal information. It also means understanding what to do if you come across something confusing or upsetting online and being aware that what you do online can have real‑world consequences.
We recommend selecting option ‘Keeping personal information private’. Feel free to select more than one option.
Q42. Where, if anywhere, would you trust to go to for help with media and digital literacy?
Please answer this question as you see fit.
Q43. Outside of schools, how could government better support children and young people to stay safe and feel supported online?
Please answer this question as you see fit.
Q44. Would you be willing to be re-contacted by Savanta (the company conducting this research) if we have any further questions connected to this research? If we did contact you, it would be within the next 3 months, no later.
Please select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ based on your preference and click ‘next’.
You have now reached the end of the survey. You’ll see the following screen – click ‘finish’!
