WAR ON APPS

After watershed US case, PM says enough's enough

- LIZZY BUCHAN

THE next generation will not forgive the government if it fails to tackle the social media Wild West, Keir Starmer says.

The Prime Minister said the landmark US ruling against social media platforms marks a turning point in the approach to protecting kids online.

In an interview with this paper, he said the UK needed to act to curb addictive functions.

He said: "Addictive algorithms, clearly to my mind, shouldn't be permitted.

"This is the platforms trying to get children to stay on for longer, to get addicted. I can't see that there's a case for that, and therefore I can see we're going to have to act." The government is consulting on plans to introduce social media restrictions for youngsters including an outright ban, time limits on app usage and overnight curfews.

Measures could restrict addictive design features such as "streaks", which are consecutive daily interactions on a platform, and "infinite scrolling" - a pattern whereby content automatically loads as users scroll down a feed.