Rejected petition: Regulate social media algorithms and addictive design instead of a blanket ban
Rejected on
Halt plans for a blanket social media ban on under-16s. Instead, mandate that platforms must disable engagement-maximising algorithms, infinite scrolling, autoplay loops, and predatory design features by default for all minor accounts, shifting accountability from families to tech corporations.
Blanket bans fail to protect youth and block educational lifelines for isolated, neurodiverse, or home-educated teens. The real harm lies in multi-billion-pound corporate algorithms engineered for profit. For both minors and the wider public, these systems prioritize polarization and misinformation because outrage drives screen time. The Government must hold tech giants accountable: regulate core mechanics and mandate transparency to protect public discourse and keep young people safe online.
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
You may wish to sign these petitions which call for similar actions: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/757233
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/760642We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.