UK Government Launches Consultation on Children’s Online Experiences, Including New Obligations for AI

In this blog post, authors Sam Jungyun Choi, Jadzia Pierce & Dan Cooper (Covington & Burling) explain how the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has launched a wide-ranging consultation on strengthening children’s safety online, signaling a potential expansion of the current regulatory framework under the Online Safety Act 2023. The initiative explores measures such as stricter age-assurance requirements, a possible statutory minimum age for social media, limits on high-risk platform features, and new obligations for AI-driven services, with the government aiming to move quickly using newly granted legislative powers.

The consultation focuses heavily on age thresholds and access controls, including whether to raise the UK’s age of digital consent and introduce more robust, layered age-verification systems. It also considers imposing restrictions on specific functionalities—such as livestreaming, disappearing messages, location sharing, and interactions with strangers—indicating a shift toward more granular, feature-level regulation rather than relying solely on platform-wide rules.

Another key area is the regulation of persuasive and potentially addictive design features, such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic recommendations. DSIT is evaluating whether platforms should implement friction-based interventions like usage limits or curfews for minors, and whether personalized content systems should be restricted for younger users. The consultation also extends to AI chatbots and generative tools, highlighting risks such as emotional dependency, inaccurate outputs, and human-like interactions that may blur boundaries for children, potentially requiring new safeguards and regulatory coverage.

Finally, the authors note that DSIT is seeking input on enforcement mechanisms, including privacy-preserving age assurance and strategies to prevent circumvention, alongside broader efforts to improve digital literacy and parental support…

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