Member

Importantly, non-social media platforms could propose a different age, higher or lower, if they can provide robust evidence, based on clear criteria, of the impact on mental health and psychological well-being, and based on the presence of addictive design features such as infinite scrolling. Ofcom would assess these proposals against clear standards. We could require a higher minimum age where there is evidence of greater risk. This would create a powerful incentive for platforms to redesign their services, making them genuinely safer for young people, and, crucially, it would future-proof our regulatory approach, providing clear standards of harm and therefore an age of access.