Former Google Boss Calls for Teen Social Media Ban, Warns of AI Causing ‘Real Harm’

• Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, has shared his worries about the effect of social media on children.
• Schmidt also claimed he was worried about AI falling into “evil” hands.
• The comments come as Google announced new AI measures to verify users’ ages for its products.

The former boss of Google, Eric Schmidt, has revamped his calls for a social media ban on children under 16 and shared his concerns about artificial intelligence falling into the hands of “evil.”

Schmidt’s comments follow a new proposal from Google that will see AI being utilized to check the age of users — as global lawmakers place increasing pressure on tech companies to protect minors.

Former Google CEO’s Social Media Concerns

Talking to the BBC on Wednesday, Feb. 11, Schmidt said the current situation with social media and children was “particularly disturbing.”

“I think smartphones with a kid can be safe; they just need to be moderated… we can all agree that children should be protected from the bad of the online world,” Schmidt said.

Adding: “Why would we run such a large, uncontrolled experiment on the most important people in the world, which is the next generation?”

The former Google boss, who ran the company when it purchased Android, has proposed raising the legal age for social media access to 16.

Schmidt admitted he was once “one of the people who did not understand.”

“…and I’ll take responsibility that the world does not work perfectly the way us tech people think it is,” he said.

The proposal mirrors a recent law passed by Australia’s parliament, which banned social media use for people under 16 nationally.

Fears AI Will Fall Into ‘Evil’ Hands

The former Google boss also told the BBC he fears AI could one day be controlled by bad actors with harmful intentions.

“Think about North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia, who have some evil goal,” Schmidt said.

“This technology is fast enough for them to adopt that they could misuse it and do real harm,” he added.

Schmidt said that if AI falls into the wrong hands, it could be used to develop weapons or a “bad biological attack. ”

The ex-Google boss said he is always worried about “the ‘Osama Bin Laden’ scenario, where you have some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people.”

Google To Use AI To Check User Age

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Google announced it will start using AI to confirm whether users are old enough to use its products.

The tech giant said in a blog post that it will use a machine-learning-based age estimation model across YouTube and its other products.

“This year, we’ll begin testing a machine learning-based age estimation model in the U.S.,” wrote Jenn Fitzpatrick, SVP of Google’s “Core” Technology team.

“This model helps us estimate whether a user is over or under 18 so that we can apply protections to help provide more age-appropriate experiences,” Fitzpatrick added.

The move comes as lawmakers across the globe have put increasing pressure on tech companies to protect minors.

U.K. Online Safety Act

Legislation such as the U.K.’s Online Safety Act and the proposed U.S. Kids Online Safety Act has forced tech companies to implement stricter age verification measures for children.

The U.K.-based act, passed into law last year, legally requires companies to proactively identify and remove the spread of illegal content and harmful material on their platforms.

In November 2024, it was reported the U.K. government was considering enforcing an Australian-inspired ban on social media for under-16s.

Talking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program, technology secretary Peter Kyle said that “everything was on the table” when questioned whether the government was exploring a complete ban on young people’s social media usage.

However, after a petition calling for the ban received over 100,000 signatures , the government responded that it was “not currently minded to support a ban for children under 16.”

“The government is aware of the ongoing debate as to what age children should have smartphones and access to social media; however, the government is not currently minded to support a ban for children under 16,” the government responded.

“We live in a digital age and must strike the right balance so that children can access the benefits of being online and using smartphones while we continue to put their safety first,” it added.