Government announce social media ban for under 16’s by early 2027: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Secretary of State Liz Kendall has announced the Government intention to ban access by under 16’s to social media from early next year using secondary legislation to be made under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act. OFCOM has been asked to make recommendations on age verification.Press release >Oral statement to Parliament >Guidance >OFCOM >Advertising Standards Authority >
CMA imposes another civil sanction - £720K Penalty imposed for use of automatic opt ins by electrical retailer: The Competition and Markets Authority has imposed a fine of £720k on electrical retailer Martin retail for automatically adding disposal of old appliances and recycling of packaging cost to transactions post agreement of the selling price. The business has also been ordered to refund opt in costs to around 40,000 customers at a cost of a further £600,000.The CMA used its powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 to take enforcement action and impose the penalty. Having admitted to breaking the law and agreeing to settle the case early with the CMA, the company received a 40% reduction to its financial penaltyPress release >Overview >
Businesses urged to use roadmap to support their security journeys: UK Police Protect has published a detailed ‘roadmap’ of resources on its web site to assist businesses in developing awareness and preparedness for terrorist attacks.View >
EU updates
EU Commission: Research highlights high levels of non-compliance with non-food product regulations: Separate research projects on textile fibre content declaration, heavy metal content of electrical appliances and electrical interference from remote control toys have found high levels of non-compliant product both online and in shops. Non-compliance levels 53% heavy metals, signal interference 81%, textile labelling 37%. Hazardous substances >Signal interference >Clothing labels >
EU Commission: Publish research on the link between screen time and children’s well-being. A new EU-widesurvey >confirms thesignificant impact of excessive screen time and social media on young people's mental and physical health.
Key findings
9 out of 10 adolescents report at least one negative symptom linked to screen use, such as tired eyes, headaches, concentration problems, or eating less healthily
nearly 1 in 3 adolescents report feeling stressed, sad or socially excluded because of social media
45% of adolescents compare themselves to others on social media
around 25% of adolescents have come across problematic content online, including hate speech
40% of adolescents request better access to mental health support
over 50% of parents say screens negatively impact young people’s lives, and 36% feel social media harms their child's mental wellbeing
54% of parents support additional age limits or restrictions on social media use
European parliament: Vote in support of new rules to protect famers in agricultural supply chains. View >
European Council and Parliament: Agree proposals on simplification of rules on chemical products: On 17 June the EU Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on simplifying rules related to the classification, packaging, and labelling of chemicals (CLP), cosmetics products and fertilising products. Under the CLP Regulation the agreement also includes specific labelling derogations for small packaging that could be applicable to printer ink cartridges, among others, by using digital labels only, for small, inner packaging containers, when extensive information is provided in printed form on the outer packaging.View >
EU Recommendations to member states on monitoring:
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