The UK will introduce a full ban on social media and gaming sites for children under the age of 16, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced, stating that the platforms were "making children unhappy”.
The sweeping reforms will prohibit children from accessing sites such as Tik Tok and Instagram, as well as live-streaming and gaming sites, within a year. "Do we truly believe that social media creates a happy environment for our children?" Mr Starmer asked at a press conference on Monday.
He promised “bold action” in response to calls for change from parents after 90 per cent of those consulted demanded a minimum age of 16 before children can access social media platforms.
The government has not listed the social media sites to be banned, but it is understood that the following major platforms will be included:
- TikTok
- X
- Snapchat
- Threads
Some restrictions could also apply to:
- YouTube
- Twitch
- Kick
However, the legislation will not apply to messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal, the government stated.
Mr Starmer stated that the UK would go beyond the recent legislation passed in Australia by taking on gaming and live‑streaming websites.
“We're not just bringing forward a ban, we're going further, we're taking world-leading action on gaming services and live streaming platforms, where at the moment strangers can contact any child unchecked,” he said.
He then posed the question of whether there was “a situation in the offline world where you would just let your child pair up with a stranger, an adult that we don't know anything about? No. So we're taking action on that”.
The ban is expected to go further than Australia’s by including romantic or sexual AI chatbots. The government will also look in more detail at overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18s.
The public consultation on the issue, which closed on May 26, received about 116,000 responses, making it the second-largest in history.
Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of children who responded said restricting the high-risk features would make them safer online. But 72 per cent also said they were worried about feeling left out if restrictions came in.
“How we keep kids safe online is one of the biggest debates of our time," Mr Starmer said. "As a dad, I know every parent wants their child to grow up safe and happy. “This is a choice about whose side we’re on – families across the country, or a status quo that isn’t working.
“People rightly expect action and this government will always stand up for parents and put children first. That’s why we will call time on a system that’s failing our kids and take bold action to give every child the best possible start in life.”
Mr Starmer last week issued a three-month ultimatum to Apple and Google to make it technologically impossible for children to take, share or view nude images on their smartphones.
The latest move risks prompting a backlash in the US from the pro-tech Trump administration, which warned against a blanket ban for under-16s. But Mr Starmer said a full ban on under-16s accessing social media sites was “the right choice”.
“This is not something I do lightly, and I will not present it as cost-free, as if social media has brought no benefits to young people, because clearly that is wrong," said the father of two teenage children.
“It’s clear to me that a full ban is the right choice. Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy.”
Mr Starmer's announcement comes at a difficult time for his premiership, which has been under pressure since Labour’s drubbing in May’s local and devolved elections.
His authority was dealt a further blow last week by the resignations of the defence secretary and the armed forces minister over military funding, and he could face a leadership challenge if Andy Burnham succeeds in his bid to return to Westminster in this week’s Makerfield by-election.
But some groups have argued that a ban may not be the appropriate instrument to tackle a wide range of social media harms.
The Molly Rose Foundation, set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who died by suicide in 2017 after viewing harmful content online, said a social media ban “will fail to tackle fundamental product safety risks issues and leaves parents with a false sense of safety”.
Chief executive Andy Burrows said: “A majority of children will continue to use high-risk sites that will have no incentive to implement robust protections.
“This is not what online safety experts believe will work and is necessary. Keir Starmer has chosen to abdicate responsibility for tackling harmful algorithms and his legacy will be setting back children’s safety by years.”
