No 10 is worried about retaliation from White House over restrictions on under-16s’ internet use

Ministers have embarked on a concerted lobbying operation to prevent a backlash from the Trump administration to the under-16s social media ban announced by Keir Starmer.

Officials said they had spent weeks trying to reassure senior Trump officials and the US president himself that the restrictions were not specifically aimed at US technology companies.

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© Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters

© Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters

© Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters

Some parents and child advocacy groups support these measures, but critics raise privacy concerns.

Starmer acknowledges that some teens might bypass the ban but emphasizes the importance of children's safety and happiness.

Exclusive: Aboriginal Australians and migrants the targets of John Drew, who claims he was once kicked out of Pauline Hanson’s party for being ‘too radical’ – but is now a branch official

• Warning: This article contains racially offensive language and outdated references

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A man who has defended the Hitler Youth organisation and used offensive and racist language about Aboriginal people and migrants is working as a policy development officer for One Nation in Queensland.

Guardian Australia can reveal that John Drew, who claims he was kicked out of One Nation more than 20 years ago for being “too radical”, says he has been a party branch official in Brisbane since late last year. This is despite One Nation claiming it has introduced a sophisticated new vetting tool – dubbed Operation Obsidian – that it applies to any person taking up a party role.

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© Composite: Guardian Design

© Composite: Guardian Design

© Composite: Guardian Design

Britain said it would ban social media access for children under 16 starting in 2027, joining several other countries introducing similar measures.

© Katie Collins/Reuters

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government planned to bar children under 16 from social media, following policies in Australia and elsewhere.

© Katie Collins/Reuters

Rank One, whose board includes a former CIA deputy director and a former FBI science chief, supplied face recognition to Meta for internal development of its smart glasses app.

Liz Kendall also wants Ofcom to report to parliament every year on how effectively social media firms are keeping under-16s off their platforms

Starmer acknowledges some teenagers will get round these restrictons. But that does not make the rules pointless, he says.

Will it mean that no child ever looks at social media again? No.

But look, this might shock you, but it doesn’t shock parents of teenagers; they get around other laws too.

Some technology companies want us to think that social media is unchangeable, part of an almost natural order.

But we have to resist that kind of learned helplessness. We have agency, we can change it, and we will.

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© Photograph: PRU/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: PRU/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: PRU/AFP/Getty Images

UK prime minister says move will bring ‘real change for our children’ amid growing concerns over harmful online content

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Access to social media will be banned in the UK for users under 16, Keir Starmer has announced, in what he described as “real change for our children and our future”.

“Social media is making children unhappy, it’s making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health,” he said, setting out plans briefed over the weekend, which will go further than a pioneering ban in Australia.

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© Photograph: Jaimi Joy/EPA

© Photograph: Jaimi Joy/EPA

© Photograph: Jaimi Joy/EPA

Darializa Avila Chevalier won the backing of Mayor Zohran Mamdani in her bid to unseat Representative Adriano Espaillat. Then her social media history took center stage.

© Nicole Craine for The New York Times