Starmer’s dressing down of tech bosses is style over substance

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Keir Starmer had stern words for social media bosses who came to Downing Street yesterday: “Things cannot go on like this.” The problem is that they can. Although the government continues to consult on whether to ban social media for under-16s, AI chatbots, one of the biggest online dangers to children, remain outside the scope of the Online Safety Act. The government wants to rewrite the Act to address this, but this was first suggested in February and the necessary changes have not yet been made. As for keeping young people off social media, more than 60% of Australians aged between 12 and 15 still have access to one or more of their accounts despite a ban coming into effect in December. The conclusion is grim for lawmakers: tech is too diffuse and moves too fast for legislation to keep pace.