UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that children under the age of 16 will be banned from using a variety of social media platforms, including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, instagramFacebook and X.
The ban is expected to come into force early next year and place the UK within a wider international effort to strengthen online safety rules for minors.
Services like YouTube Kids and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal are not included in the ban. Law enforcement will focus on technology companies and not children directly.
Platforms that do not take sufficient measures to prevent children under 16 from accessing their services could face multimillion-dollar fines.
What the UK social media ban covers for under-16s
Platforms covered by the ban include:
- snapchat,
- tiktok,
- YouTube,
- instagram,
- facebook and
- X (formerly Twitter).
- Platforms such as YouTube Kids or messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are not included.
The UK is adopting a similar model to Australia, which last year became the first country to ban under-16s from creating social media accounts.
According to Starmer, the UK plans to go further than Australia by introducing measures to prevent strangers from contacting children on gaming and live streaming platforms.
Officials are also exploring additional restrictions, which could include nightly curfews and mandatory breaks to stop users under 18 from endless scrolling. More details are expected to be announced next month.
Why the UK government says a social media ban for under-16s is necessary
Starmer pointed to the negative effects of harmful content and excessive screen time as reasons for the ban.
He admitted that some teenagers might try to circumvent the restrictions, but stressed that he is “not willing to compromise the safety and happiness of our children.”
Esther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in 2023 by attackers who accessed harmful content online, supported the ban, saying it should be part of a broader set of measures.
The NSPCC, a children’s charity, called on authorities to ensure platforms implement effective age controls and properly enforce the policy.
The decision comes after a public consultation which received 116,000 responses, making it the second highest response count for a consultation in the UK, just behind the same-sex marriage debate in 2012. More than 90% of respondents supported a ban for under-16s.
Critics’ concerns and the US response to the UK ban
Critics, including the Open Rights Group, have raised concerns about age verification companies and the security of users’ private data.
Typically, age verification involves uploading government IDs or undergoing facial scans, which introduces new risks related to data collection and potential breaches.
A YouTube spokesperson warned that a blanket ban could result in children being steered away from curated, supervised experiences and toward anonymous, less safe services.
Jon Crowcroft, professor of communication systems at the University of Cambridge, said those who support a social media ban mean well, but they are probably wrong.
He added that there is a real risk that this approach will lead some users to worse sites and that controlling the devices is almost impossible from a technical point of view. Crowcroft emphasized that policing platforms is much easier if regulators decide to focus on them.
The United States has officially expressed its opposition to the measure. The US Embassy in London emphasized that regulations should be narrow in focus and not infringe on free speech rights.
It also raised concerns that these regulations could impose additional challenges on American technology companies.
Starmer said he plans to discuss the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders at the G7 summit that begins Monday in France.
He noted that world leaders have long understood that measures are necessary to protect children.
Broader context
The UK is joining a growing number of countries implementing age-based restrictions on social media.
Last year, Australia introduced a ban on users under 16, while Canada, Brazil and Indonesia announced or implemented similar measures.
France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are exploring or developing their own approaches.
This ban complements the broader implementation of age verification rules across Europe. In California, the Digital Age Assurance Act will go into effect in January 2027, with a recent exemption proposal for open source software.
Industry estimates suggest that revenue from age verification services could reach $11.4 billion annually within 10 to 15 years in OECD countries.
The UK government has not yet set a specific date for when the ban will come into force, only indicating that it is likely to come into force early next year.
Final details, including the age verification methods required for the platforms, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
