Under-16s could face two-hour limit on social media screen time and curfews
Children could face a limit on using social media apps or nighttime curfews to combat “compulsive” behaviour, the technology secretary said.
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The changes are designed to help youngsters "take control of their online lives", Peter Kyle said, as research suggests a huge uptick in the amount of time young people spend online.
Research published by the House of Commons Education Committee found a 52% increase in children’s screen time between 2020 and 2022, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The research also shows that a quarter of children use their smartphones in a way “consistent with a behavioural addiction”.
Babies as young as six months old are using screens, and one in five children between three and four years old have their own phone.
By age 12, almost all children own a mobile phone, the research suggests.
Peter Kyle has now said he wanted to tackle "compulsive behaviour" and ministers are reportedly considering a two-hour limit, with curfews also under discussion.
The technology secretary said he would be making an announcement about his plans for under-16s "in the near future".
"I am looking very carefully about the overall time kids spend on these apps,” he told Sky News.
"I think some parents feel a bit disempowered about how to actually make their kids healthier online.
"I think some kids feel that sometimes there is so much compulsive behaviour with interaction with the apps they need some help just to take control of their online lives and those are things I'm looking at really carefully."
Mr Kyle said: "We talk a lot about a healthy childhood offline. We need to do the same online.
"I think sleep is very important, to be able to focus on studying is very important."
He said he wanted to "tip the balance" in favour of parents so they were "not always being the ones who are just ripping phones out of the kids' hands".
The minister also said it was "total madness" that some adults were able to use apps or gaming platforms to contact children online.
He said "many of the apps or the companies have taken action to restrict contacts that adults, particularly strangers, have with children, but we need to go further".
"At the moment, I think the balance is tipped slightly in the wrong direction.
"Parents don't feel they have the skills, the tools or the ability to really have a grip on the childhood experience online, how much time, what they're seeing, they don't feel that kids are protected from unhealthy activity or content when they are online."
The harmful content children are being exposed to online recently came into full view with the Netflix drama Adolescence, highlighting the devastating effects of the ‘manosphere’ and online misogyny on young people.
Research by the Children’s Commissioner for England found that 79% of children had come across violent pornography before the age of 18, with the average age that children are exposed to pornography being 13 years old.
Meanwhile, sexual crimes committed against children online has risen by a staggering 400% since 2013.
A series of already-announced measures to protect children will come into effect from Friday as the government tries to safeguard children on the internet.
The codes of practice set out by Ofcom include requiring firms to ensure that any algorithms used to recommend content on their platforms must be configured to filter out harmful content from children's feeds.
In addition, the riskiest platforms, such as those hosting pornography, must have effective age checks to identify which users are children.
The checks could be done using facial age estimation technology, asking users to provide photo-ID for verification or a credit card check.