UK minister visits Australia for ‘lessons’ ahead of expected British social media crackdown

Kanishka Narayan says Australia’s pioneering law has contributed to national conversation under way in Britain

The UK’s online safety minister says he has spent a week in Australia learning the “practical lessons” of the country’s under-16s social media ban amid concern that many teenagers are bypassing the law.

The British government is expected to announce a social media crackdown within weeks after a public consultation that could see the UK follow in Australia’s footsteps and restrict access to social media for teens – including age limits or changes to allegedly addictive design features – by the end of this year.