Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Deferred
Paragraph: 106
Launch cross-government consultation on raising the digital age of consent to 16
Recommendation
The next Government must launch a consultation by the end of the year on whether 13 is a reasonable age of digital consent, or whether it should be raised. The next Government should recommend 16 as a more appropriate age. This approach should be cross-government and include research on the reasoning behind other countries having higher digital age of consents than our own.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the current legal digital consent age of 13 and the importance of keeping this area under review. It states it will give further consideration to the committee's recommendation to launch a consultation by the end of the year on raising the age of digital consent to 16, but does not commit to it.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
106
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The government is committed to ensuring that children’s personal data is protected and that they can engage safely with online services. As part of its ongoing work, and in light of evolving technology and international approaches, it recognises the importance of keeping this area under review. We will give further consideration to the committee’s recommendation for a consultation.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗