UK to ban social media platforms for under-16s

On Monday, 15 June 2026, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a comprehensive ban prohibiting under-16s from using major social media platforms, including Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. In a speech delivered from 10 Downing Street, Starmer spoke about how the proposed measures would enhance child safety, happiness, and freedom while changing the conversations at home and childhood expectations. 

Messaging applications like WhatsApp and Signal are excluded from the restrictions. However, online products not subject to the ban, such as gaming applications, will face new controls, including the removal of options to chat with strangers. The government has also said it is considering additional restrictions for under-18s, such as infinite-scroll breaks and overnight curfews to curb late-night internet use.

Responding to months of pressure, Starmer said that the UK has the "agency" to challenge technology companies. He dismissed concerns about teenagers evading the rules, comparing the legislation to a broader social contract that reflects societal values. The Prime Minister acknowledged that the decision was not taken lightly but maintained that the legislation would successfully provide young people with more security and opportunities as they grow up.

Separately, in a statement to the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall, provided further details on the government's recent national consultation, in which 9 in 10 parents supported a ban. A total of 116,000 responses were submitted, including 54,000 from parents and 14,000 from children. Other responses came from charities, teachers' organisations, the police, medical professionals, and MPs. Kendall also confirmed that the government aims to bring the ban into effect in 2027 and that there will be a "narrowly defined list of exemptions" that it will keep under review.

Meanwhile, a statement responding to the announcement by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) reaffirmed its commitment to keeping children safe online and highlighted its response to the government's consultation. In its response, the ICO explained that: "We can use our existing powers to hold social media and video sharing platforms to account where they are not adequately enforcing their own minimum ages and are processing children’s personal information."  

As part of its approach, the ICO plans to continue working with the government and other regulators to pass effective legislation while reminding organisations that existing data protection laws still apply.

Communications regulator Ofcom also released a statement, outlining the actions it has taken. "Ofcom has driven some of the strongest changes of any online safety regulation in the world, from widespread age checks to grooming protections for children. But the industry needs to go much further to make people safe. The Government has entrusted us to build on this progress with new measures to protect children, and we're ready to work closely with them as the detailed regulations take shape."

In the statement, Ofcom published its reply to a letter from Liz Kendal in which the Secretary of State sought clarification "that use of highly effective age assurance will be critical to the successful implementation of age restrictions for social media services," and that "visible, credible enforcement will be essential to building confidence that these protections are real and effective in practice." Kendal went on to request that Ofcom conduct a "rapid assessment of what highly effective age assurance looks like for determining whether someone is over 16. Please also consider what new methods are emerging that could support this in the future."

In her reply, Dawes confirmed that the regulator has "already kicked off work looking at the options for effective age assurance at 16 and I can confirm that we will deliver an assessment that can be used to inform parliamentary debate by the end of October, as you have requested."

In a related article, cross-bench peer and campaigner for online safety for children, Baroness Kidron, recounted the most troubling experience she had witnessed online: a child's reaction upon discovering that the sexual acts she believed were private moments were, in fact, being watched by others.

The article, which contains an interesting reference to her new book, also describes a moment where an "outraged Facebook executive" laments how the tech industry “will not be regulated from a small town in England." The small town in question was apparently Wilmslow, Cheshire.

True to form, the leading Social media companies have also responded to the news. US-based platforms, including Meta, Snapchat and YouTube, warned that a blanket ban would move children into more unsafe online environments.

A statement by Open Rights Group was also critical, warning that "headline-grabbing proposals by a Prime Ministers on his way fail to address the root causes on online harms – business models that reward harmful content." 

Meanwhile, in a statement by Big Brother Watch said: "Politicians and tech companies have let children down for too long. But in a headlong rush to make up for lost time, the government is going down the wrong path. 

"The British people have always, rightly, rejected mandatory ID schemes. Now the government is imposing digital ID checkpoints for the internet. This is not like Challenge 25 for alcohol. We will all face a "papers, please" demand to get online."

For a more balanced assessment, cast your mind back to Friday, before news of the ban had been leaked, when the former ICO Deputy Commissioner, Steve Wood, published an article on his PrivacyX Substack assessing the plans announced on 8 June. It's an interesting post and well worth a read. 

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