In Britain, social networks for children under 16 may be banned in 2026.

The UK authorities may impose a ban on the use of social networks for teenagers under the age of 16 as early as 2026. This was reported on February 16 by The Times newspaper, citing sources in the British government.

"In accordance with the powers announced by the Prime Minister [Keir Starmer] as part of efforts to stabilize their situation, children may be banned from accessing social media as early as this year," a source told the publication.

According to the newspaper, the restrictions may come into force in the summer after the completion of public consultations. It is planned that the measures will affect not only social networks, but also access to chatbots. In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers intends to oblige Internet platforms to set limits on the time that minors spend in services with endless scrolling of content.

According to the newspaper, the government will begin urgent work to adjust the "Law on Internet Security." It clarifies that the authorities also intend to promptly eliminate the legal loophole and oblige all suppliers of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to comply with the requirements for countering illegal content within the framework of current legislation.

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On January 11, American businessman Elon Musk made a repost of an AI-generated photo of the British prime minister in a bikini, saying that the British authorities want to ban freedom of speech. This is how the billionaire reacted to reports that the UK authorities are considering banning the social network X due to the scandal with the chatbot Mask Grok. Users have started using the neural network to create sexualized deepfakes of real people, including celebrities and children.

On January 12, Starmer warned that the country would establish control over the Grok chatbot integrated into the X social network if the American company did not take measures to regulate it. The Prime Minister added that the Government will not tolerate violations of security and human rights.

After that, xAI imposed restrictions on users of the Grok chatbot to edit images and "undress" people based on photos.

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