YouTube Kids, Spotify and Lego Play could potentially fall under an expanded UK social media ban for under-16s, as ministers consider broader rules aimed at preventing teenagers from finding ways around the restrictions.
YouTube Kids could be caught up in a major expansion of the UK’s planned social media ban for under-16s, alongside platforms including Lego Play and potentially Spotify, according to sources briefed on the government’s proposals.
The regulations are due to come into force in March and are expected to be sent for Cabinet approval this week before Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy lays them before Parliament in December.
One source close to the discussions said as many as 150 platforms could ultimately fall within the scope of the rules, including services that had previously been expected to remain exempt.
Ministers are understood to favour a broad approach focused on recommender systems and user-generated content, partly to prevent teenagers from moving to alternative platforms to bypass the restrictions.
An industry source said: “We all share the goal of keeping teenagers safe online. Proposals have to be workable, and a situation where eBay, Lego, YouTube Kids and Spotify aren’t clear whether they comply is unsustainable. Detailed guidelines can’t come soon enough.”
Another industry insider said: “The whole internet has a recommender system. The regulation is just too broad. But they want to make it really broad and legally airtight so they can be prepared for any eventuality.”
When the social media ban was announced by former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June, the government said educational services, e-commerce platforms and music streaming would be excluded, with a “narrowly defined list of exemptions” kept under review.
However, technology companies are understood to have warned that removing recommender systems could make some services impossible to operate.
Spotify could technically fall within the proposed rules because it features user-generated content and recommends music and podcasts, although the company has sought assurances that it will not be classified as a social media platform.
The government is also considering whether platforms such as Vinted, eBay and Depop should be included in a second tranche of regulations expected next spring because of their messaging functions.
Online Safety Minister Ian Murray said platforms could potentially avoid the restrictions if they changed their services to remove harmful or addictive features.
He said: “The way back is to comply with the regulations and fall out of scope. That is an easy thing to say but not an easy thing to deliver, but that is the principle with which we will go forward on this.”
Murray also said YouTube Kids and Lego Play would need to demonstrate that their algorithms did not create harmful effects.
Tech industry bodies have warned that services such as YouTube Kids could cease to function properly without their recommender systems, potentially making compliance with the proposed rules difficult.
YouTube Kids could be covered in UK under-16s social media ban expansion
