LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday a ban on social media for children under 16, aiming to "give children their childhood back." The ban, modeled on Australia's legislation, will target platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. However, messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal will be exempt. The ban is expected to take effect in spring 2027.
Children will still be permitted to use the internet for learning, news, gaming, and staying in touch with family and friends. Additionally, AI "romantic companion" chatbots will be required to enforce a minimum age of 18. Under-16s will be prohibited from live-streaming themselves and from contacting strangers, including on gaming platforms.
Industry Criticism
YouTube was among the first companies to criticize the ban. A spokesperson stated: "YouTube is a vital resource for young people, educators, and parents. Blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less safe services."
A Meta spokesperson commented: "As we've seen in Australia, bans risk isolating teens from online communities and information, driving them to unregulated alternatives that lack built-in protections and parental controls." Snapchat added: "Because the majority of time spent on Snapchat is in private messaging between friends and family, an outright ban that disconnects teens from those relationships doesn't make them safer — it may simply push them to less safe platforms."
Youth and Expert Reactions
Young people in the UK expressed dissatisfaction with the ban, calling it patronizing, as many rely on social media to communicate with friends. However, the government stated that nine out of ten parents supported the measure.
Dr. Ysabel Gerrard, senior lecturer in digital communication at the University of Sheffield, noted: "Emerging evidence from Australia indicates that under-16s are still on social media, but now they are using it without the necessary safeguarding measures."
Dr. Lizzy Winstone, senior research associate at the University of Bristol Medical School, warned: "The digital environment will still exist when young people turn 16, and risks will not disappear simply because access is delayed. There is a risk that young people may enter these spaces later but with less experience, less digital literacy, and less adult guidance."
Prof. David Ellis, chair of behavioral science at the University of Bath, argued that a ban "lets social media companies off the hook: they can divert resources away from making platforms safer."
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