The prime minister has warned no platform will get a “free pass” as ministers prepare to tighten regulation of artificial intelligence chatbots and social media features.
Sir Keir added the government had “won” the “battle” with X after threatening action over its AI assistant Grok creating non-consensual sexual deepfakes, and that it was now time to take the same approach with “all AI bots”.
The prime minister’s intervention comes as ministers set out proposals to amend the Online Safety Act, which became law in 2023 but was drafted before the emergence of chatbots such as ChatGPT.
The plans include bringing AI chatbots within the scope of the Act, accelerating the passage of future technology legislation, and requiring tech companies to preserve data on a child’s phone if they die.
Writing on Substack, Sir Keir said: “In the past 20-plus years, social media has evolved to become something completely different from the simple, stripped-back pages it was in its conception. And in that evolution, it has become something that is quietly harming our children.”
He added: “Crack down on the addictive elements of social media, stop the auto-play, the never-ending scrolling, that keeps our children hooked on their screens for hours, and stop kids getting around age limits. And if that means a fight with the big social media companies, then bring it on.”
Under the proposals, coroners would have to notify Ofcom of the death of every child aged five to 18 so companies cannot delete potentially relevant data.
The government is also considering preventing children from using virtual private networks to bypass age checks and amending the law so chatbots must protect users from illegal content.
The changes follow campaigning by Ellen Roome after the death of her son Jools at 14 in 2022.
Ellen told the BBC: “This going forward will help other bereaved families. What we now need to do is stop the harm happening in the first place. This is really relevant when a child dies, but we need to stop them dying in the first place.”
Technology secretary Liz Kendall said: “The first time the Online Safety Act was discussed I think was in a green paper in 2017 – that process is too long, because the technology is changing so quickly. MPs have a Finance Bill every year with the budget – I think we need to think like that with technology because it is changing so fast.”
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said: “Sir Keir Starmer should commit to a new Online Safety Act that strengthens regulation and makes clear that product safety and children’s wellbeing is the cost of doing business in the UK.”
Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: “After their insights have been overlooked in discussions so far, their experiences must now help guide the decisions made in the months ahead.”
