The Government’s children’s online safety consultation has reached the exciting international stage, where a difficult domestic question is packed into a suitcase and sent to Australia to see whether another country has found the instruction manual. On 24 May 2026, the Government reported that Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan was preparing to travel there before the UK consultation closed on 26 May. More than 70,000 responses had arrived, an academic panel had been appointed, and the library Wi Fi was preparing its own findings on behalf of everyone who has ever failed to connect on the first attempt.
The proposed visit was intended to examine Australia’s social media age restrictions, including how they had worked in practice and what lessons might help the UK. The minister was also expected to meet Australian counterparts and young people. This is international listening, a noble process in which a policy crosses several time zones before anyone checks whether the password works.
At home, the consultation was entering its final two days. More than 70,000 people had responded, an impressive number until placed beside the number of children who have been told to stop looking at a screen and immediately looked at a different screen.
An academic panel chaired by Professor Russell Viner was announced to assess the positive and negative effects of social media on young people and consider possible interventions. Its experts cover child development, technology and online safety. The Government now has consultation responses, an overseas fact finding mission and a panel of specialists, which is nearly enough material to fill a cupboard labelled “next steps”.
The sensible part is that online safety is complicated. Age restrictions look beautifully tidy in a press release, but real life contains workarounds, family arguments, technical problems and children who can find a loophole before an adult has located the settings menu. Any serious policy needs evidence, safeguards and an explanation that does not assume every household has a spare regulatory lawyer.
The library Wi Fi welcomes the listening exercise, although it fears that the phrase “world first” may earn somebody a commemorative lanyard. It would also like the panel to investigate why adults can spend an hour discussing screen time while checking their phones throughout. This is the sort of mystery that may require international travel, nine professors and a biscuit.
The consultation may produce a clearer route through a difficult problem. Until then, the Government has assembled responses, experts and an overseas study visit. The Wi Fi has submitted its evidence, received an automatic reply and been told that the password will be reviewed after the summer. At last, a policy outcome everyone can understand.
Source: GOV.UK.
