A Landmark Shift in Online Child Safety
The United Kingdom is set to introduce a sweeping ban on major social media platforms for children under the age of 16, a significant policy shift aimed at protecting young people from online harms. This decision follows a national consultation, "Growing up in the online world," which ran from March 2 to May 26, 2026, and garnered over 116,000 responses. A staggering 90% of parents who participated in the consultation expressed support for an under-16 social media ban.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to formally outline these plans, which are described as an "Australia plus" model, indicating a stricter approach than Australia's existing ban for under-16s. The proposed legislation, building on the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, will empower the government to impose age or functionality restrictions for children under 16. This represents a decisive move to address growing concerns about the mental health risks and exposure to harmful content associated with social media use among minors.
Targeting "High-Risk" Platforms and Features
The ban is expected to encompass major social media applications such as TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, and Reddit. For platforms not subject to an outright ban, the government plans to implement restrictions on "high-risk" features for under-16s. These features include disappearing messages, chats with adult strangers, and livestreaming, which law enforcement agencies link to grooming and child sexual abuse.
Furthermore, the new regulations will extend to banning under-18s from using romantic or sexual AI chatbots, a measure that builds on earlier efforts to combat AI-generated "nudification." The consultation also explored options such as raising the digital age of consent, implementing phone curfews to prevent excessive use, and restricting potentially addictive design features like "streaks" and "infinite scrolling." While the current digital age of consent in the UK under data protection law is 13, other European countries like Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands have set it at 16.
Enforcement and Industry Response
Enforcing these new age restrictions will require robust age verification mechanisms. The Online Safety Act 2023 already mandates platforms offering access to pornography or content related to self-harm or suicide to verify users are over 18. Companies like Meta, owner of Instagram and Facebook, already employ various methods for age verification, including self-reporting and third-party technologies. The government has also set a three-month deadline for tech companies to introduce device-level controls to prevent children from sending and receiving sexually explicit images, threatening legislation if they fail to act.
While the move has strong parental backing, with 9 out of 10 parents supporting an under-16 ban, some critics, like Scotland's children's commissioner Nicola Killean, argue that a blanket ban might not make children safer and could push them towards less regulated parts of the internet. Concerns have also been raised by industry groups, such as the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which suggests that "blanket restrictions on features will stifle access to age-appropriate experiences with proper parental controls, encouraging children to seek out riskier unregulated alternatives." Despite these concerns, the government appears committed to "bold action" to address what Prime Minister Starmer has called "a system that's failing our kids."