Petition

To provision people the legal right to refuse smartphone use without penalty.

Rejected 11 signatures

What the petition asks

We are calling on Parliament to enact the Digital Autonomy and Mental Health Protection Bill. The Bill would require employers to provide non-smartphone alternatives to workplace systems and require platform designers to stop building architecturally addictive products.
The evidence is not speculative. Studies published in peer-reviewed journals demonstrate that heavy smartphone use reduces grey matter density in brain regions responsible for attention and emotional control, reduces working memory and fluid intelligence even when a phone is merely present on a desk, and is associated with a 66% increased risk of suicide risk factors in young people. These are not lifestyle preferences. They are measurable harms.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign the following petition, which calls for similar action:

Enshrine the right for citizens to live offline in UK law
Enshrine the right for citizens to live offline in UK law

Timeline

20 Apr 2026 Petition opened for signatures
12 May 2026 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 11
Status Rejected
Rejected 12 May 2026

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 23 Aug 2026.