LONDON – Ipagbabawal ng United Kingdom ang paggamit ng social media apps ng mga batang wala pang 16-anyos, ayon kay Prime Minister Keir Starmer nitong Lunes, sa hakbang na tinawag niyang “a big moment for our country” at “real change for our children and our future”.
Sakop ng ban ang malalaking platforms gaya ng Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook at X. Hindi kabilang ang messaging services tulad ng WhatsApp at Signal.
Target din ng gobyerno na pigilan ang strangers na makipag-ugnayan sa mga bata sa gaming at livestreaming platforms.
“Social media is making children unhappy, it’s making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health,” sabi ni Starmer.
Hindi raw madali ang desisyon, pero kailangan itong gawin.
“This is not something I do lightly, and I will not present it as cost-free, as if social media has [brought no] benefits to young people, because clearly that is wrong,” aniya. “But government is always about choices, and it’s clear to me that a total ban is the right choice.”
Sa isang news conference, sinabi ni Starmer na lalaban ang gobyerno kung kokontrahin ito ng technology companies. Iginiit niyang siya ay “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children.”
Papasok ang UK sa lumalawak na global push para higpitan ang online safety ng mga bata. Naglatag o nag-anunsyo na rin ng age-based restrictions o requirements ang Australia, Canada, Brazil at Indonesia, habang pinag-aaralan o dine-develop din ang katulad na hakbang sa France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand at South Korea.
Ayon kay Starmer, ang UK measures ay “possibly go a bit further” kesa sa Australia ban, na nagbabawal sa under-16s na magkaroon ng social media accounts at nagpapataw ng multimillion-dollar fines sa tech firms kung hindi nila aalisin ang mga ito.
Hindi rin niya tinanggap ang argumento na may teenagers pa ring makakalusot.
“We don’t say, ‘Oh, look, a teenager managed to get a drink somehow, so let’s not bother banning alcohol sales for children.’ We don’t do that, do we?
“I just don’t accept that. Our laws are rules, but they’re also an expression of our values. They shape the social contract, and so this will change the conversations that parents have, and the expectations of children over time.
“It will make a huge difference. It will make our children safer. It will make our children happier. It will give them more time, more security, full freedom to grow up, more opportunity, and that, at the end of the day, is what this government is about.”
Target ng gobyerno na maisulong ang batas bago matapos ang taon, habang inaasahang epektibo ang ban sa susunod na spring.
Ayon kay Starmer, magtatagumpay ang ban kung magdudulot ito ng “a massive drop off of children on social media” at “a cultural change, a sense that actually you can grow up differently.”
Sumunod ang desisyon matapos makatanggap ang gobyerno ng 116,000 responses mula sa mga magulang, tech industry, at mga bata. Ayon sa gobyerno, mahigit 90% ng respondents ang pabor sa under-16 ban.
Ginawa ni Starmer ang anunsyo sa harap ng audience na kinabibilangan ng mga campaigner para sa ban, kasama ang mga magulang na nawalan ng anak.
“I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must happen, and that is why this ban will happen.
“Yes, it’s hard – hard to legislate for, hard to regulate, hard to enforce. That’s why we sought a wide range of views on this. That’s why we listened to people, had a conversation, we looked carefully at the evidence, learned from countries like Australia that are taking similar steps.”
Posible ring magpalala ang ban sa tensyon sa US, na nagbabala na dapat makitid ang regulations at hindi lumalabag sa free speech protections. Ikinabahala rin ng US Embassy in London na magpapabigat ang regulations sa American technology companies.
Sinabi ni Starmer na inaasahan niyang pag-uusapan nila ni President Donald Trump at iba pang world leaders ang isyu sa Group of Seven summit sa France.
“I honestly think that across world leaders, there has always been a recognition that leaders have to take steps to protect children,” sabi niya. “I don’t think that’s controversial. There will always be arguments as to exactly what the limits of that are and what rules should be in place, but I don’t see that as a problem.”
Si Starmer, na nahalal halos dalawang taon na ang nakalipas at may dalawang teenage children, ay nasa ilalim ng pressure mula sa ilang kasapi ng sarili niyang partido at maaaring humarap sa leadership challenge sa mga susunod na araw o linggo. /Bistado