Insights Addictive phone use by children: Private Members’ Bill introduced to Parliament

A Private Members’ Bill has been introduced to Parliament that is aimed at tackling addictive phone use by children. The ‘Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill’ was introduced by Josh MacAlister OBE MP, and has already received cross-party endorsements and support from prominent educational and children’s organisations.

The text of the Bill will be developed in the coming months, during which there will be a “consultation and a series of Bill hearings with experts to shape the detailed content”. However, the press release about the Bill states that it will contain four main provisions:

  1. Raising the age at which companies can get consent from children about the use of their data from 13 to 16;
  2. Banning smartphones from schools, drawing on recent initiatives in Australia and France;
  3. Strengthening Ofcom’s powers to “protect children from apps that are designed to be addictive” by giving Ofcom a “specific mandate to protect children’s interests and new powers to enforce a code of conduct to prevent children being exposed to ‘addictive by design’ apps and services”; and
  4. Committing Government to review further regulation of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by children under 16, if necessary.

Commenting on the Bill, the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said, “having called for the Online Safety Act and celebrated its passing into law last year, I welcome the provisions in this Bill that will strengthen the implementation of the Act. A duty of care on online services will ensure that tech companies consistently put children’s safety ahead of their profit margins. I also welcome the call for a code of conduct for platforms to be safe by design. Children tell me that they want to enjoy the benefits of the online world and to be protected from harmful content and harmful behaviours. This Bill will secure the proactive approach to keeping children safe online that is required in an era of evolving technology.”

To read more about the Bill, click here.