UK to Ban Social Media for Under-16s in World's Toughest Child-Safety Move

A line in the sand for Big Tech

Britain will bar children under 16 from major social media platforms, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday, in what the government calls the world's toughest online child-safety regime.reuters +1 The ban will capture user-to-user services "whose purpose is to enable social interaction" — including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X — while sparing messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal.reuters +1 "This is a line in the sand," Starmer said. "Tech giants had their chance and failed, but we're stepping in to protect children."gov

Going further than Australia

The UK is modelling its approach on Australia's landmark ban, which took effect last December, but says it will go further.cnbc Alongside the blanket block, ministers will prohibit under-16s from livestreaming themselves and bar strangers from contacting children across a wider range of services, including gaming sites.reuters Those functionality limits will be switched on by default for 16- and 17-year-olds to avoid a "cliff-edge", and so-called AI "romantic companion" chatbots will have to enforce a minimum age of 18.gov The government is also weighing overnight curfews and curbs on infinite scrolling, with a fuller response due in July.reuters

Regulations are expected to reach Parliament before Christmas, with protections coming into force as early as spring 2027.gov Because ministers can use secondary legislation under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act, they avoid passing a full new Act — letting them move faster than the years it took to enact the Online Safety Act.bbc

Enforcement and privacy questions loom

The plan's impact hinges on how firmly it is enforced. More than nine in 10 of the UK's 2.5 million 13- to 15-year-olds already have a social media profile, according to regulator Ofcom, which has been tasked with a rapid study into how to reliably verify whether a user is over 16.theguardian Starmer said enforcement would target platforms rather than fine children who evade it, conceding some teenagers would try to circumvent the rules.reuters In Australia, a "substantial proportion" of under-16s have done exactly that, helped by a pre-ban spike in VPN downloads.theguardian +1

Privacy campaigners warn the regime could normalise intrusive age checks. The Open Rights Group says it will be "virtually impossible" to be online in the UK without handing over identity documents or biometric data, and Big Brother Watch cautions against a "papers please" approach.theguardian YouTube and Meta argue blanket bans cut children off from valuable information and push them toward "anonymous, less safe services".cnbc The government insists a narrow list of exemptions will keep educational and e-commerce services available.gov