Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also said that he would seek legal power to act on a consultation that is considering an Australia-style social media ban for those under the age of 16.
The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has announced a crackdown on artificial intelligence chatbots that are said to endanger children and pledged to seek broader powers in regulating internet access to minors.
Starmer’s office said on Monday, 16 February ’26, that the government would target ‘vile and illegal content created by AI’ and so push for legal powers to act quickly on the findings of a public consultation that considers a social media ban for children aged 16 years and below.
These powers are likely to reduce parliamentary scrutiny of any such future curbs.
Starmer said in a statement that technology is moving really fast, so the law has to keep up with that rapid pace.
He added that we are acting to protect children’s well-being, besides helping parents to navigate the minefield of social media.
The measures are likely to require all AI chatbot providers to abide by digital safety laws. This includes a ban on creating sexualised footage without the subject’s consent. The move follows actions taken against the Grok chatbot for creating non-consensual intimate images on Elon Musk’s X platform.
Starmer’s office went on to explain its push for broader powers. It added that it intends to act on the findings of the public consultation within months rather than wait years for new primary legislation every time technology evolves.
Parliament is currently considering the measures as an amendment to existing crime and child-protection legislation.
The consultation, which is intended to begin in March, would consider measures like setting a minimum age limit for social media. Additionally, there will be a prohibition on children using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access pornography.
