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The UK just got much closer to banning under-16s from social media. So, how long could it take for a ban to come into force?
On Thursday night, the House of Lords voted for a social media ban for under-16s added into a piece of legislation called the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The amendment could drastically speed up the implementation of a social media ban here in the UK. If it is also passed by the House of Commons it will become law.
Read more: What UK social media ban on children could look like – as government considers action
Without amendment, campaigners would have had to wait for the government to run a nationwide consultation that it announced on Monday.
Ministers are not scheduled to respond to that consultation until the summer, so that would already have meant a six-month wait.
If the consultation did suggest a ban was necessary, the government says it would offer MPs a chance to vote on a new amendment giving them the power to enact the ban. More time would then have been needed to give tech companies time to prepare.
By adding an amendment into legislation already going through parliament, Lord Nash, who proposed the amendment, has managed to skip many of those hurdles. That was intentional.
“The longer we delay, the more children we fail,” the Conservative peer said earlier this week.
Read more: Logging off: Kids’ social media ban now feels almost certain
Now the bill – with its new social media ban amendment – will go back to the House of Commons for MPs to consider and vote on it.
One Labour MP told Sky’s political…
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