UK government to announce ban on social media for under-16s
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to unveil restrictions that would prohibit children under 16 from using major social-media platforms, with additional measures such as curfews and AI chatbot limits.
The British government will announce new rules that bar users younger than 16 from accessing ten major social-media services, including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, X, Threads, Facebook and Kick. The proposal also includes measures such as disabling livestreaming on "safer" sites, preventing contact with strangers on gaming apps, and introducing curfews for older teenagers, as well as tighter age-verification and limits on AI chatbots.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the policy is intended to protect families and "call time on a system that's failing our kids". He added that the government will "take bold action to give every child the best possible start in life".
A government-run consultation found that about 90% of responding parents supported a ban for under-16s, with 83% believing the risks outweigh the benefits. The survey recorded 116,000 responses.
Critics, including the father of a teenager who died after exposure to harmful online content, warned that an outright ban could create a false sense of safety and push young people toward unregulated parts of the internet. Child-welfare groups such as the NSPCC, the Internet Watch Foundation and Childnet expressed support for stronger regulation rather than a total ban.
The culture secretary told the BBC that technology firms have had "more than enough time to get their house in order". Labour deputy leader Lisa Nandy said the focus should be on how, not whether, to better protect children online, citing the consultation's strong support for stricter measures.