Overview
- The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges warned clinicians are seeing severe harms from screens and online content, calling the situation a public health emergency and commissioning a rapid review due within three months.
- The government is preparing to consult this week on measures for under-16s, with options reported to include a full prohibition, time limits, content controls and tighter algorithms.
- The House of Lords is expected to vote this week on an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would introduce an Australia-style prohibition for under-16s.
- In Australia, platforms report deactivating or restricting about 4.7 million suspected child accounts under a new law requiring age checks and exposing firms to fines reported up to A$49.5 million.
- A coalition of more than 40 charities, bereaved families and experts, including the Molly Rose Foundation and the NSPCC, cautioned that blanket bans could push teens to unregulated spaces and remove vital support, with early service data in Australia flagging help-seeking concerns.