Government Online Safety Plan Announcement in ‘Weeks, Not Months’, Parents Told
Bereaved parents urged the prime minister to act within weeks as the government weighs under-16 social media limits and possible restrictions on VPNs.
- On Tuesday, bereaved parents met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, where he promised child protection measures within 'weeks, not months' as the Government's 'Growing up in the online world' consultation closed.
- The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology launched the three-month consultation in March to examine social media restrictions and VPN age-gating, gathering 81,283 responses before closing on May 26.
- Survey data revealed a quarter of 4,000 young people polled had seen nude photos originally sent privately, while 15% of 13- to 15-year-olds were asked to share nude images; a March survey found a quarter of girls aged 13 to 20 called degrading names online.
- Ellen Roome said families were grateful their stories were 'treated with respect,' adding that the PM 'told us clearly that he would act within weeks and we will now hold him to it,' though Ruth Moss expressed mixed feelings.
- The cybersecurity industry remains united against VPN age restrictions, with Mozilla and 18 other organizations warning that mandatory verification would 'undermine the privacy and security of all users' and create vulnerabilities without addressing child safety.
10 Articles
10 Articles
Evening Standard
Government online safety plan announcement in ‘weeks, not months’, parents told
The Government’s Growing Up In The Online World consultation is closing.
Parents told Government to announce online safety plan in ‘weeks, not months’
The Government’s Growing Up In The Online World consultation is closing. The bereaved parents of children whose deaths were linked to social media have been told during a meeting with the Prime Minister that measures should be announced in a matter of “weeks, not months”. The group attended 10 Downing Street on Tuesday afternoon as the Government’s Growing Up In The Online World consultation, which floated measures such as an Australia-style soc…
Growing up in an online world: ORG Consultation Response
Executive Summary Age-gating was implemented in 2025 as a limited mechanism aimed primarily at restricting children’s access to pornographic content online. Within a short period of time, its scope has rapidly expanded. We have seen age checks introduced across online gaming services, app stores, social media platforms, and other general online services. Proposals within this consultation would extend age-gating requirements across even larger a…
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