UK to ban social media for under-16s in digital crackdown

The UK government has announced a sweeping ban on social media for children under the age of 16, following the footsteps of Australia in a bid to tackle widespread online harm.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled the landmark policy on Monday morning, declaring that tech giants will be blocked from offering services to young teenagers. The decision marks one of the most aggressive regulatory interventions into the digital lives of children anywhere in the world.

The announcement has triggered a fierce debate between child protection advocates and human rights groups, exposing deep divisions over how best to police Big Tech. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) hailed the decision as a massive victory.

“Today is a win for children and parents and all of us who have campaigned for better child protection online,” said Chris Sherwood, CEO of the NSPCC. “Big Tech must not have access to our children where their dangerous platforms are causing appalling harm to young people. This is a watershed moment for child protection.”

However, Sherwood warned that a blunt ban is not a silver bullet, pointing to international precedents. “Australia has shown that bans alone don’t keep all children safe, some young people will always slip through the net,” he said, urging the government to enforce robust age checks and tackle the “addictive features across all services that leave young people scrolling for hours on end.”

Conversely, Amnesty International criticised the policy, arguing that excluding children from digital spaces fails to hold tech companies accountable for their fundamentally flawed systems.

“This is a case of the right diagnosis but the wrong prescription,” said Kerry Moscogiuri, Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK. “The problem is not that children exist on social media; it’s that social media companies have built platforms that are unsafe by design. Banning under-16s risks treating children as the problem, rather than addressing the companies and systems that create the risks in the first place.”

Moscogiuri argued that social media is a vital tool for education and connection, adding: “You cannot solve a design problem with an access ban. If the diagnosis is that social media platforms are harming children, the remedy should be to regulate the platforms, not exclude children.”

Policy Briefing: What’s changing?

The new framework introduces strict age gates and design mandates aimed at protecting both minors and older teenagers.

Scope and Exemptions

• Platforms Affected: Popular applications, including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) are fully within scope. Gaming sites will also be impacted by the new restrictions.

• Platforms Exempted: Everyday messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are not included in the ban.

Timeline

• Legislation: The bill is scheduled to be introduced to Parliament before Christmas 2026.

• Enforcement: The new rules are expected to come into force in Spring 2027 officially.

Extended Protections for Under-18s

To prevent a “cliff-edge” effect when children turn 16, the government will mandate that livestreaming and stranger communication features are turned off by default for 16 and 17-year-olds. Ministers are also exploring overnight curfews and restrictions on infinite scrolling for this older cohort, with further details expected in July.

AI Chatbot Restrictions

A strict minimum age of 18 will be enforced on “romantic companion” chatbots designed to simulate sexual relationships or roleplay. Other AI chatbots will face comparable age restrictions if they feature “intimate functionalities.”