Mark’s comments have been reproduced with kind permission.
Mark Jones, online safety act expert and criminal partner from law firm Payne Hicks Beach, believes the government’s response feels like a ‘scattergun approach’.
“Restricting infinite scrolling overnight is only one small part of a much bigger picture,” he says. “Platforms also rely on push notifications, variable reward systems through likes and shares and other behavioural design techniques that encourage compulsive use and keep young people coming back.
“If these measures focus on limiting when 16 and 17 year olds can use social media, rather than requiring platforms to fundamentally change the way they design and promote content, they’re treating the symptoms rather than the cause. Restrictions often encourage workarounds, whether that’s VPNs, alternate accounts or other creative ways of bypassing them.
“The real issue is platform accountability. Unless [the] government addresses the other addictive design features and the harmful content these algorithms continue to amplify, these reforms fall short of being a meaningful overhaul of online safety.”
The new measures follow a government pilot involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the UK, with families reporting that overnight curfews helped improve sleep and concentration.
Click here to read more:
GBN News: Social media curfew tested in the UK for first time
UKTN: Social media curfews to be enforced for older teens – but they can opt out – UKTN
The Legal Diary: Edward Fennell’s LEGAL DIARY – The Legal Diary
For further information, please contact Mark Jones, Alternatively, telephone 020 7465 4300.
