Social media to be banned for under-16s in the UK

The UK government will ban social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook and X from offering their services to under-16s.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall confirmed on Monday (15 June) that legislation is expected before Christmas and protections should take effect from Spring 2027.

The plans, set out by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, follow the model used in Australia and would capture user-to-user platforms whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which let users post material, along with their recommendation algorithms.

Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are not intended to fall within the ban.

The government framed the move as a deliberate choice to side with families over technology companies, describing it as a line in the sand for future generations.

What the rules will cover

Beyond the headline ban, the government plans wider restrictions on specific online functions it considers harmful to children, including livestreaming and the ability for strangers to contact under-16s.

These restrictions will apply across a broader range of services than the social media ban itself, including gaming sites.

The government said the combined package goes further than any other country has attempted.

To avoid what it called a cliff-edge at 16, the same functionality restrictions will apply by default for 16 and 17 year olds.

The government is also examining overnight curfews and forced breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18s, with further details promised in July.

So-called AI romantic companion chatbots, designed to simulate sexual relationships or roleplay, must enforce a minimum age of 18.

The rules will also restrict similar intimate functions for under-18s across AI chatbots more widely. The government said the approach responds to how children experience harm online rather than only where it happens.

In his announcement, Starmer said parents want to keep their children safe but that the online world had made it harder than ever.

“We’re going further than any country in the world by banning social media for under-16s and putting wider protections in place to give kids their childhood back,” he said, adding that technology giants “had their chance and failed.”

Kendall said technology companies had been given repeated opportunities to keep children safe and had failed to act.

“That is why we are taking power away from the tech giants and putting it back in parents’ hands,” she said, describing the measures as a step towards a safer and healthier life online for children and future generations.

Enforcement and age checks

The government said it would learn from Australia’s experience by introducing highly effective age assurance measures to support compliance and make safeguards harder to bypass.

Ofcom will run a rapid study on what counts as effective age assurance for verifying whether a user is over 16.

Kendall has written to the new chair of Ofcom requesting an urgent review of the regulator’s enforcement capabilities, with an enforcement strategy to be published as soon as possible, and confirmed the government will ensure Ofcom has the funding to carry out its new duties alongside its existing Online Safety Act work.

The announcement follows a national consultation that drew more than 116,000 responses from parents, children and experts.

The government said 9 in 10 parents backed a social media ban for under-16s, while two-thirds of young people agreed that children under 16 should not be allowed to use at least some platforms.

Ministers pointed to real-time content and algorithmic feeds as particular risks, arguing that live material is harder to moderate and that recommendation systems can intensify exposure to distressing or overly engaging content.

The government has already taken powers through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act to act through secondary legislation, which it said could bring the first regulations into force in Spring 2027.

The move builds on a separate challenge issued to technology companies last week, when Starmer set a three-month deadline for the industry to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images.

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