UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a full ban on social media use for children under 16, set to begin in spring 2027 [1, 2]. The ban will cover major platforms including TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads, and Reddit [3, 1, 2, 4]. It will also extend to gaming and livestreaming platforms with measures to prevent unsupervised contact between children and strangers [3, 1, 2].
Starmer said the decision aims to protect children from mental health issues, bullying, and addictive features like infinite scroll and AI chatbots. He stated, "Social media is making children unhappy, it’s making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health... I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children. That is why this ban must happen and it is why this ban will happen" [1, 2].
The UK government consulted widely, receiving over 116,000 responses from teachers, parents, young people, and industry experts [3, 5]. More than 83% of parent respondents said social media risks outweigh its benefits for children, and 90% supported raising the minimum age to 16 [3]. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy noted, "The responses to the consultation were overwhelmingly clear... Many young people themselves are feeling that they’re being pulled into something quite toxic at a very young age" [5].
Enforcement will rely on age verification technology, with some exceptions for content such as YouTube Kids and Google Classroom [2]. The ban also includes curfews limiting late-night social media use for older teenagers and restrictions on AI chatbot access for children [6, 2, 5].
The ban follows similar Australian legislation enacted in late 2025 but is described by the UK government as going further [6, 3, 7, 5]. Starmer aims to pass the legislation by the end of 2026 to implement it in spring 2027 [1, 2].
The policy faces criticism. Some warn teens may circumvent the ban using VPNs or other tools based on Australian experience [4, 8]. Critics argue it could harm teenagers’ social lives and push them to less safe, anonymous platforms. A YouTube spokesperson said, "Blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less safe services" [4, 8, 9]. There are also concerns the policy was rushed for political reasons ahead of the June 18 Makerfield by-election [6].
Supporters say the ban is a necessary, protective step despite enforcement challenges, while opponents view it as potentially ineffective or politically motivated [6, 1, 2, 4, 8, 5, 9].
The ban is part of a broader UK approach to tougher regulation of big tech and online safety for children [3, 1, 7, 2]. The government plans to finalize legislation before the end of 2026 to enforce the ban by spring 2027 [1, 2].
