The Government’s consultation on children’s use of technology signals a clear shift – from focusing on harmful content to questioning how children use technology day to day.
Building on the Online Safety Act 2023, it explores whether further measures are needed to support children’s wellbeing online, including:
- setting a minimum age for social media
- restricting features designed to drive excessive use (such as infinite scrolling and autoplay)
- whether the digital age of consent should be raised
- how age verification and age assurance technologies can support effective implementation
- improving support and guidance for parents
The mobile phone guidance is also referenced in the consultation. However, with mobile phone restrictions already on a statutory footing under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, the direction of travel is clear. The focus is shifting from managing individual risks to questioning whether children’s digital habits are safe and sustainable. For schools, this is likely to reinforce the link between behaviour, safeguarding and wellbeing, particularly in how technology and social media use is managed in practice.
The consultation is open until 26 May 2026 , with further policy decisions expected to follow. In the meantime, schools may want to ask a simple question: does their current approach reflect where policy is heading?
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