Children's Digital Wellbeing
UK Children's Digital Wellbeing Consultation
UK government package restricting children s access to AI chatbots and addictive online features: mandatory break reminders for under-18 chatbot users, a ban on sexualised chatbots for under-18s, and default overnight social-media curfews for 16-17-year-olds, to be delivered through regulations under new Online Safety Act powers (s.214A, inserted by the Children s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026).
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Enacted
Pending
Effective
TBD
Enforcement
Ofcom
Policy package confirmed July 15, 2026 in the Government Growing up in the online world progress statement (Technology Secretary Liz Kendall; also delivered as a written ministerial statement): mandatory break reminders for under-18 chatbot users, a ban on chatbots offering sexualised content to under-18s, default midnight-6am social-media curfews for 16-17-year-olds, and addictive-feature restrictions. Statutory basis now in place: section 70 of the Children s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 inserts section 214A into the Online Safety Act 2023. First regulations due before Parliament by end of 2026 (affirmative procedure); implementation expected spring 2027.
Growing up in the online world: progress statement (GOV.UK)Why It Matters
Would explicitly bring AI chatbots under UK Online Safety Act regulation for the first time. Companion AI and character chatbot providers serving UK users would need to implement age verification and comply with illegal content duties. Signals UK intent to regulate AI-specific child safety risks.
Recent Developments
July 15, 2026: consultation response and progress statement published. Chatbot-specific commitments include regular mandatory breaks for under-18s (frequency to be set with an expert panel, aimed at reducing emotional dependence on chatbots), a ban on chatbots offering sexualised content to under-18s (18+ age verification for sexually explicit AI features; general-purpose models not age-gated), and work with regulators on chatbots giving dangerous or unverified mental-health advice, with all options considered including bans. First regulations to be laid by end of 2026.
At a Glance
Applies to
Harms addressed
Requires
Who Must Comply
- AI chatbot providers
- Social media platforms
- Online platforms serving children
- Gaming platforms with social features
Safety Provisions
- Age restrictions on AI chatbot access for children
- Ban on infinite scrolling features for children
- Ban on auto-play video features for children
- Restrictions on VPN use to bypass safety systems
- Potential changes to age of digital consent
- Automatic data-preservation orders when a child dies
- Powers to curb stranger pairing on gaming consoles
- Powers to block sending/receiving nude images
Compliance & Enforcement
Penalties
Penalties pending regulatory determination
View on map
United Kingdom
Focus Areas
Cite This
APA
United Kingdom. (n.d.). UK Children's Digital Wellbeing Consultation.
Related Regulations
Ofcom Children's Codes
Ofcom codes requiring user-to-user services and search services to protect children from harmful content including suicide, self-harm, and eating disorder content. Explicitly covers AI chatbots that enable content sharing between users. Requires detection technology, content moderation, and recommender system controls.
KCSIE
Statutory safeguarding guidance issued by the Department for Education for schools and colleges in England, setting out duties to prevent and respond to harm to children, including abuse, neglect, and online safety risks. Reissued annually; requires a whole-school approach to online safety organised around a four-part risk framework (content, contact, conduct, commerce), together with a designated safeguarding lead, staff training, and a child protection policy.
FL AI Bill of Rights
Establishes an 'AI Bill of Rights' for Floridians including the right to know if communicating with AI, parental controls over minors' AI chatbot access, prohibition on selling user data, disclosure requirements for AI-generated political ads, and protections against unauthorized use of name/image/likeness by AI.
GA AI Chatbot Child Safety
Adds O.C.G.A. section 39-5-6, requiring operators of AI companion chatbots to disclose the chatbot is not a natural person, to adopt a protocol for detecting and responding to expressions of severe harm, to restrict specified manipulative and sexualised interactions with minors, and to perform age assurance before providing access to sexually explicit synthetic content.
ID Conversational AI Safety
Establishes safety requirements for public-facing conversational AI, including crisis service referrals for suicidal ideation, AI disclosure obligations, and enhanced protections for minors including anti-gamification and content safeguards.
OR SB 1546
Requires AI chatbot operators to implement evidence-based suicide and self-harm detection protocols, disclose AI nature to users, provide crisis referrals to 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and apply additional protections for minors including prohibiting deceptive personification.
Last updated August 3, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.