UK to ban social media for children under 16, following Australia's lead

The United Kingdom is set to prohibit children under 16 from using social media platforms, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer scheduled to make the formal announcement on Monday, June 16, 2026. The move, as reported by TechCrunch and Bloomberg, would affect some of the world's largest platforms including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, X, Threads, Snapchat, Twitch, and Kick.

The announcement follows months of government consultation in which nine out of ten parents called for a ban — a level of public consensus that has given the Starmer government political room to move forward with what would be one of the most sweeping internet regulations affecting minors in Europe.

Two paths forward

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall is weighing two distinct policy approaches, and Monday's speech will likely clarify which direction the government intends to take:

• Blanket ban: A full prohibition on under-16s from creating or using accounts on covered social media platforms, mirroring Australia's approach.
• Feature-based restrictions: Rather than banning platforms outright, this approach would target specific "addictive" design mechanics — infinite scroll, autoplay video, and algorithmic content recommendations — for users under 16.

Each approach carries different enforcement challenges and political trade-offs. A blanket ban is simpler to communicate but harder to enforce without robust age verification. Feature restrictions are less disruptive to platforms but may be harder to audit and could result in regulatory arbitrage — platforms simply renaming the same features.

Additional measures on the table

Beyond the core social media question, the government is also considering a ban on under-18s accessing romantic or sexual AI chatbots, and restrictions on late-night scrolling — a feature already adopted voluntarily by some platforms to limit engagement during sleep hours.

Gaming applications would not face a blanket ban, but platforms would be required to remove features enabling contact with strangers for younger users — a targeted approach that distinguishes between gameplay and social exposure.

The age-verification problem

Whatever form the ban takes, enforcement is the hardest part. The government is examining four distinct age-verification mechanisms, each with its own risks:

• Behavioural analysis: Platforms would estimate a user's age based on how they interact with content. Least intrusive, but easily gamed by tech-savvy teenagers.
• Selfie-based age estimation: Facial analysis to infer age from appearance. Raises biometric data concerns and has historically shown accuracy disparities across demographic groups.
• ID document verification: Upload of a passport or national ID. Most reliable, but means platforms would hold copies of government documents for millions of users — a significant privacy and security risk.
• Bank account linking: Using a verified financial account as proof of age. Excludes young people who lack bank accounts and ties social media access to financial systems.

None of these methods is without significant drawbacks, and critics argue the cure may be worse than the disease when it comes to privacy.

The debate

Supporters of the ban point to the documented harm caused by heavy social media use in adolescence — referencing in particular the murder case of a teenager whose online activity was central to police evidence — and to the widespread parental anxiety captured in the consultation. The argument is that the current situation represents a market failure: platforms have financial incentives to maximise engagement, including among young users, and voluntary measures have been inadequate.

Critics raise several serious objections. Privacy advocates warn that any system requiring ID upload creates a honeypot of sensitive data and could expose minors to greater risk if breached. Child welfare organisations caution that for some vulnerable teenagers — particularly those in unsupportive home environments or LGBTQ+ youth — online communities provide genuine social support that an outright ban would sever. And a growing body of researchers argues that the evidence linking social media use directly to measurable mental health harm remains inconclusive; blanket restrictions, they suggest, are a blunt instrument for a nuanced problem.

Following Australia's model

The UK is explicitly positioning this move as a follow-on to Australia, which passed legislation banning under-16s from social media in November 2024 and saw it take effect in late 2025. The Australian experience will be closely watched: early reports from that country suggest platforms have struggled with consistent enforcement, and many teenagers have circumvented restrictions using VPNs or borrowed accounts.

What comes next

The government believes some aspects of the new regime can be implemented under existing powers granted by the Online Safety Act 2023, which already empowers Ofcom to set age-appropriate design standards. However, a broader ban — particularly one imposing strict age verification obligations on platforms — is likely to require new primary legislation, meaning a parliamentary process that could extend well into 2027 before taking legal effect.

Monday's speech will set the political direction. The hard work — drafting rules, consulting with platforms, surviving legal challenge, and actually verifying ages at scale — is still ahead.