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It's highly likely that a social media ban for anyone aged 16 or under will soon be implemented in the UK, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer is confident of new legislation being passed before the end of this year.
So why the heck am I writing about this on a PlayStation-specific website? Well, it's because the proposed plan is already raising all kinds of questions about gaming; there's a suggestion that such a ban could pave the way for a similar approach to things like online games.
Essentially, Starmer's government argues that children — again, up to the age of 16 — should be safeguarded against potentially dangerous online platforms.
The official article on the subject claims that kids "will be given back their childhoods" and that there'll be "less time for scrolling and more time for play".
As of right now, the ban is set to impact social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram — as well as YouTube.
Livestreaming will also be banned "across all platforms".
However, the article does specifically note that the ban "will not affect the ability for children to participate in multiplayer games online" — but it feels like there should be a 'yet' at the end of that sentence.
More details on all of this will apparently be shared in July.
Of course, those of us in the UK are already very familiar with the government's approach to gating online content behind age verification — and so this ban is basically branching off from that ongoing initiative.
Indeed, if you own a PS5 in the UK, then you'll have already had to deal with the new age verification process, in which you need to prove you're over 18 in order to use communication features on the console.
Do you think this ban could eventually lead to limits on gaming? Try not to ban yourself in the comments section below.