Tech bosses warned UK will do 'whatever it takes' to protect children ahead of meeting with Starmer at G7 summit
The Prime Minister will meet with the heads of OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic
The Prime Minister has warned tech bosses that his government will do "whatever it takes" to protect children following the announcement of the social media ban for under-16s.
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The chief of OpenAI, Sam Altman, Meta’s Alexandr Wang, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei are expected to be at the roundtable discussion during the G7 summit in France.
Before the meeting, Sir Keir Starmer said: "My message to tech bosses is clear, work with us to keep kids safe or I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen."
He has also given tech firms three months to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images and threatened legislation if they fail to.
It comes two days after a ban on social media for under-16s was confirmed, which is set to come in next Spring.
Read more: Bereaved parents hail Starmer's social media ban for under-16s after landmark restriction announced
Read more: Can I get around the social media ban with a VPN?
During the meeting, Sir Keir is expected to tell tech chiefs that the UK will never compromise on value and that he is making the UK one of the easiest places in the world to set up and grow a tech business.
He added: "I don't just want Britain to lead the tech revolution, I want us to drive who this change is actually for.
"That means never compromising on our values, especially when it comes to keeping kids safe online.
"We’re already acting to ban social media for under-16s, block harmful features online, and make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images."
The ban was announced on Monday which Sir Keir admitted would not be cost-free, but said it was the right thing to do to protect children.
The Prime Minister announced the ban in response to concerns social media is unsafe, making children miserable and could cause lasting damage to their mental health.
He acknowledged some youngsters would try to find their way around a ban but said he would not compromise on the "safety and happiness of our children".
Speaking to LBC, Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey, welcomed the ban and said that she wishes she had more support from the Government when her daughter was still alive.
She told Tonight with Andrew Marr that "after three years of campaigning, it's definitely what I wanted to hear."
Ms Ghey added: "There might be some young people that are really concerned about this decision and it's important that we make sure that there is support in place for people that are under 16 or families that might need it."
The ban is expected to cover platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X but not messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal.
Sir Keir suggested YouTube Kids, Lego Play and Google Classroom would not be covered by the prohibition.
The social media ban follows a similar move in Australia, where there have been criticisms about how it is enforced, with youngsters using virtual private networks (VPNs) and other methods to get around it.