Despite much political back and forth, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is seemingly pursuing a ban on social media for those under 16, in a policy that, in many ways, could be a defining one for his legacy.
Embattled and likely writing the final chapters of his premiership, the ink is drying on Starmer’s bill that would change the way that social media is utilised and the younger generation engages with content.
Whilst well intentioned, a black market blindspot in the regulation should cause significant concern, as a whole new threat looms for those most at risk and impressionable.
In fact, a complete ban on social media for under 16s not only leaves the threat of black market gambling exposure untouched, but in many ways it risks elevating it to higher levels.
Prohibiting social media for under 16s isn’t going to revert the digital and engagement habits of a younger generation back to a generation of the past; they are simply going to evolve again and adjust to the frameworks.
The attention of the younger generation will remain in the digital ecosystem, but will be up for grabs – presenting a key opportunity for streamers to swoop in on the likes of Kick and other platforms.
Sites that could well seize the opportunity to capture the newly freed-up attention of this generation host prevalent black market activity from a plethora of some of the most influential streamers. It risks the first interaction of a new generation with gambling being uncontrolled and with aggressive, in many cases quite unhinged streamers, on unlicensed platforms, most of which provide very little friction to stopping underage players from gambling on their platforms.
Starmer and the Labour government risk increasing the avenue of engagement from younger players to black market operators as a result of an unintended consequence of the social media ban.
Furthermore, the notion that a social media ban is going to eradicate all engagement of a younger generation with social platforms couldn’t be more of a fantasy.
The ban risks pushing a younger audience to use VPNs, heightening the sophistication with which they bypass regulations at a younger age and normalising such a practice before they have fully evolved their digital habits into adulthood.
Should a generation become even more integrated in VPNs and bypassing tools, their freedom to explore the black market and the accessibility of unlicensed operators risks growing to alarming levels.
Again, an unintended consequence that could fuel the black market to new levels.
State intervention should be taken with the utmost care and understanding, embracing research from all corners. The consequences of such a significant action could be indirect and not necessarily obvious; no stone must be left unturned in ensuring that we understand just how impactful such an action would be.
For Starmer, whose tenancy in Number 10 is likely running against the clock, this sweeping change feels scrambled and, with that, will bring a whole raft of ramifications.
