Minister’s ‘anger’ at tech companies – as bosses could face prison if kids see harmful content
Social media companies must face tough sanctions if they fail to keep children safe from harmful content, the technology secretary has said.
Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Peter Kyle said age verification for adult material would have to be “watertight”, and that apps which do not protect children will face heavy fines and even jail time for company bosses.
He was talking ahead of new requirements, to be announced by the regulator Ofcom in mid-January, for platforms to protect children from a wide range of harmful content including bullying, violence, and dangerous stunts.
Apps for adults only will also be required to introduce tighter age verification, via a credit card or ID.
Mr Kyle said: “If they allow the children who are under the age that is appropriate, to view content, then they can face heavy fines and, in some circumstances, they’ll face prison sentences.
“This is the kind of direction of travel you’re going to have with me because I want to make sure kids are kept safe. These are not rules and powers that I’m bringing in just to sit on a shelf.
“These are powers that we’re bringing in for a purpose. At the moment, I accept that parents don’t believe that their kids are safe online because too often they’re not.”
‘Not enough research’
Mr Kyle said he was “in admiration of what these companies have created” and that lots of organisations, including the government, could learn from the tech sector.
But he added: “I do have a real deep frustration and yes, that could be called anger when it comes to the fact that not enough research has been produced about the impact their products have.
“If I was producing a product that was going to be used ubiquitously throughout society that I knew that children as young as five are going to be accessing it, I would want to be pretty certain that it’s not having a negative impact on young people.”
Peter Kyle said age verification for adult material would have to be ‘watertight’
The Online Safety Act was passed in October 2023 and is being implemented in stages. It will allow companies to be fined up to £18m, or 10% of turnover as well as criminal charges.
In December, the regulator Ofcom set out which content is illegal – including sexual exploitation, fraud and drug and weapons offences.
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The Australian government has announced it will ban under-16s from most social media altogether, which some campaigners are calling for the UK to follow.
Mr Kyle said he has no plans for one at this stage, as he met a group of teenagers from across the country at the NSPCC children’s charity to talk about their experiences online.
Some mentioned the “addictiveness” of social media, and coming across “distressing” content. But all were against a ban, highlighting the positives for learning, and of online communities.
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The UK chief medical officers reviewed the evidence on harm to children from “screen-based activities” – including social media and gaming – in 2019.
Their report found associations with anxiety and depression, but not enough evidence to prove a causal link. It backed a minimum age of 13 for using these apps.
But the technology secretary has commissioned more research to look at the issue again by next summer, as countries including France and Norway have raised the minimum age to 14 or 15.
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More social media restrictions for under-16s?
Children ‘getting dopamine hits’
Ofcom research last year found nearly a quarter of five-to-seven-year-olds have their own smartphone, with two in five using messaging services such as WhatsApp despite it having a minimum age of 13.
By the time they are 11, more than 90 percent of children have a smartphone.
Lee Fernandes, a psychotherapist specialising in addiction, told Sky News at his London clinic that he has been increasingly treating screen addiction in young adults, some of whose problems began in their teenage years.
“In the last five years, I’ve seen a big increase in addictions relating to technology,” he said.
“I think everyone just thinks it’s mindless scrolling, but we’re habituating children’s minds to be stimulated from using these phones and they’re getting these hits of dopamine, these rewards.”
Social media companies privately say teenagers use over 50 apps a week and argue that app stores should develop a “one-stop shop” rather than ID checks for each individual app.
Some platforms already require teenagers to prove their age through a video selfie or ID check if they attempt to change their age to over-18.
There are also AI models being developed to detect under-18s pretending to be adults. Specific teen accounts by providers including Meta restrict certain messages and content.
Anything other than a win for Labour would have been a humiliation in this contest.
It wasn’t any old local by-election – this was a contest where Labour knew it could act as a mini barometer of Sir Keir Starmer’s recent U-turn on winter fuel payments and become a test of how popular the politics of Nigel Farage are in Scotland.
Labour are power hungry and have, for a long time, set their sights on forming the next Scottish government.
The prime minister will this morning be breathing a sigh of relief after clinching this shock victory over the SNP and Reform UK.
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New MSP’s message to Farage and ‘his mob’
This contest on the outskirts of Glasgow came at a time where Labour had been firefighting and grappling with polling suggesting they had blown their chances of ousting the SNP from power in Edinburgh after almost 20 years.
The SNP had a spring in their step during this campaign after a chaotic couple of years.
First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney had apparently stemmed the bleeding after the infamous police fraud investigation, endless fallout over gender identity reforms, and last year’s general election where they were almost wiped out.
This result leaves them no further forward than 12 months ago with questions over the party’s strategy.
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SNP and Reform UK election billboard posters in Larkhall. Pic: PA
Reform UK is very much in the Scottish picture now, finishing a few hundred votes behind the nationalists.
This is a party led by a man who barely registered any support north of the border for many years. A remarkable transformation.
The surge in support has spooked many because they know fine well Nigel Farage is only just getting started.
One poll had Reform UK forming the next official opposition at Holyrood. After tonight, that might be a tall order but Mr Farage is shaking things up at the expense of the Conservatives.
The unpredictable nature of this contest may give us a taste of what is to come.
A single ticket-holder could win the biggest lottery prize the UK has ever seen if they match the right numbers in tonight’s EuroMillions draw.
The jackpot has rolled over to an estimated £208m, after Tuesday’s £199m draw – which also would have been a record-breaking amount – had no winners.
The winner would instantly become richer than Adele and Harry Styles, while also bagging the top spot on the National Lottery’s biggest wins list.
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Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at Allwyn, said: “We are now on the verge of potentially creating the biggest National Lottery winner this country has ever seen.”
The previous largest prize pot was won by an anonymous UK ticket-holder, who took home £195m on 19 July 2022.
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Just two months earlier, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, won £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket. At the time, Joe was a communications sales engineer, and Jess ran a hairdressing salon with her sister.
Mr Thwaite said he woke up at 5am as usual, and checked his phone to see an email saying, “Good news, you have won a prize”.
But he did not immediately wake his wife, choosing to let her sleep in.
“I saw how much and I didn’t know what to do,” Mr Thwaite said.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep, I didn’t want to wake Jess up, so I just laid there for what seemed like forever. I spent some time searching for property with no budget limit, which was a novelty!”
When his wife woke up, she assumed the National Lottery app was wrong.
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Winner ‘thought it was a scam’
In February last year, Richard and Debbie Nuttall were revealed as the UK winners of a £61m EuroMillions jackpot – who at first thought they had only won £2.60.
The couple from Lancashire split the £123m prize with a winner in Spain.
This year’s biggest prize, of £83m went to a UK winner in January.
Scottish Labour’s Davy Russell has won the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
Mr Russell took top spot with 8,559 votes. The SNP placed second with 7,957 votes, with Reform UK closely taking third with 7,088 votes.
The new MSP said he was “proud” to have been elected, adding: “I said in this campaign that I will put this community, our community first.
“I will work every single day to do that.”
The Scottish Labour team celebrating the win. Pic: PA
The by-election was called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.
The Scottish government minister died in March at the age of 57, having last year taken medical leave to undergo treatment for secondary breast cancer.
South Lanarkshire councillor Katy Loudon had hoped to retain the Holyrood seat for the SNP, given her party’s heavy losses to Labour at last year’s UK general election.
First Minister John Swinney congratulated Mr Russell following the result.
In a post on X, the SNP leader said Ms Loudon had “fought a superb SNP campaign”.
He added: “We have made progress since the election last year but not enough. We still have work to do and we will do it.”
All eyes were also on Reform UK and whether it would enjoy a “tartan bounce” in light of the party’s recent slew of local election wins in England.
With Reform UK never having won an election in Scotland, party deputy leader Richard Tice said candidate Ross Lambie coming in third was a “massive boost for us”.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice turned up to the count to support candidate Ross Lambie. Pic: PA
He added: “It’s a fantastic result, just a few hundred votes away from the SNP, nobody predicted that.
“I think that sets us up with excitement and momentum for the next 11 months into the Holyrood elections.”
Davy Russell celebrating with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and the party’s deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie. Pic: PA
Mr Russell said the constituents had voted to “take a new direction” with his party.
He added: “Like the people here in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, and right across Scotland, we all feel we have been let down by the SNP.
“They’ve broken our NHS, wasted our money, and after nearly two decades they don’t deserve another chance.”
Mr Sarwar and Mr Russell on the campaign trail. Pic: PA
Mr Russell said the community had also “sent a message” to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage “and his mob tonight”.
He added: “The poison of Reform isn’t us, it isn’t Scotland, and we don’t want your division here.
“Reform have no real answers to the issues we face, and they can’t beat the SNP here or replace them across Scotland.”
Mr Russell said his party was ready to “fix” the NHS and “end the SNP’s addiction to wasting your money”.
He added: “The road to a new direction for Scotland in 2026 – with Anas Sarwar as first minister and a Scottish Labour government – begins right here. So, let’s go and win it together.”
By-election Scottish Conservative candidate Richard Nelson (left) and Reform UK candidate Ross Lambie. Pic: PA
Ten candidates went head-to-head in the Holyrood by-election:
• Collette Bradley, Scottish Socialist Party – 278 votes
• Andy Brady, Scottish Family Party – 219 votes
• Ross Lambie, Reform UK – 7,088 votes
• Katy Loudon, Scottish National Party (SNP) – 7,957 votes
• Janice MacKay, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – 50 votes
• Ann McGuinness, Scottish Green Party – 695 votes
• Aisha Mir, Scottish Liberal Democrats – 533 votes
• Richard Nelson, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party – 1,621 votes
• Davy Russell, Scottish Labour Party – 8,559 votes
• Marc Wilkinson, Independent – 109 votes
The votes were verified and manually counted at South Lanarkshire Council headquarters in Hamilton.
Dame Jackie got emotional after Mr Russell’s win. Pic: PA
Campaigning became heated in the run up to the by-election, with Reform UK accused of running a “racist” ad on Facebook against Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Reform leader Mr Farage continued to double down, accusing his rival of “sectarian politics”.
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In response, the Scottish Labour MSP branded Mr Farage a “poisonous little man” and accused him of running a “campaign of dirt and smear”.
First Minister Mr Swinney had earlier warned it was a “two-horse race” between the SNP and Reform UK, urging voters to “defeat the gutter politics” of Mr Farage.
With less than a year to go before the Scottish parliament election, the result potentially offers a snapshot of how the political landscape north of the border could look in 2026.
Mr Sarwar said: “I think people need to change the script, because we’ve proven the pollsters wrong.
“We’ve proven the commentators wrong, we’ve proven the bookies wrong. We’ve proven John Swinney wrong and so many others wrong too.”
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