{"id":2115,"date":"2026-06-15T09:17:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T09:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2115"},"modified":"2026-06-15T09:17:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T09:17:30","slug":"uk-under-16-social-media-ban-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2115","title":{"rendered":"Under-16 social media ban announced by UK government"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">The UK is the latest country to follow Australia in implementing a total social media ban for children under 16, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced. The ban, which could take effect from early next year, will be joined by wider measures that will also prevent children from talking to strangers in online games, livestreaming, or using sexual or romantic chatbots.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">\u201cDo we truly believe that social media creates a happy environment for our children? Do we truly believe that it\u2019s a place where they can feel safe?\u201d Starmer asked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2026\/jun\/15\/keir-starmer-social-media-ban-under-16s-tik-tok-instagram-snapchat-twitter-x-meta-uk-politics-latest-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-6a2fa66e8f08b3c2b5d2f5bd#top-of-blog\">during a press conference<\/a> announcing the policy. \u201cI don\u2019t think I even need to answer those questions, do I?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">\u201cEvery parent can see it with their own eyes,\u201d he said. \u201cSocial media is making children unhappy. It\u2019s making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health, exposing them to content that is dangerous because that\u2019s what grabs the attention. It\u2019s designed to be addictive \u2013 of course it is. Features like the Infinite Scroll \u2013 they\u2019re designed to lock you in for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">Banned social media apps will include Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X, though messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal will not be covered. \u201cRomantic companion chatbots\u201d will have to enforce a minimum age of 18, and \u201cintimate functionalities\u201d will have to be restricted for under-18s on more general AI tools. Together with the restrictions on games and livestreaming platforms, the UK government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/social-media-to-be-banned-for-under-16s-in-landmark-government-move-to-givekids-their-childhood-back\">said in a statement<\/a> that its new policy will \u201cgo further than any other country\u201d in restricting children\u2019s time online.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">The restrictions may eventually go further still, with the government also looking at \u201covernight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18-year-olds,\u201d with an announcement on that planned for next month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">UK communications regulator Ofcom has been tasked with determining the best age verification measures for the policy. The UK has required wide-ranging age verification measures <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/analysis\/714587\/uk-online-safety-act-age-verification-reactions\">since last summer<\/a> under the Online Safety Act, which requires certain websites to limit access to under-18s to prevent them accessing pornography or content perceived as dangerous. That age verification has typically required users to either upload credit card information or government ID, or agree to a face scan to estimate their age.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">\u201cTech companies have had countless opportunities to keep children safe, yet they have failed to act,\u201d said technology secretary Liz Kendall. \u201cThat is why we are taking power away from the tech giants and putting it back in parents\u2019 hands.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1044qizi _18mzr4b1 _18mzr4b0 _19wv7tc1\">The government says legislation is expected to be presented to parliament before the end of the year, and that the first set of regulations could take effect from spring 2027. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/report\/840822\/australia-social-media-ban-under-16-response\">Australia\u2019s ban<\/a> on social media for under-16s went into effect in December 2025, and multiple governments worldwide are now developing or considering similar laws, including Canada, France, Spain, and Denmark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/policy\/949679\/uk-under-16-social-media-ban-announcement\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UK is the latest country to follow Australia in implementing a total social media ban for children under 16, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced. The ban, which could take effect from early next year, will be joined by wider measures that will also prevent children from talking to strangers in online games, livestreaming, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[46,74,75,179,204,34],"class_list":["post-2115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-news","tag-policy","tag-politics","tag-regulation","tag-social-media","tag-tech"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Under-16 social media ban announced by UK government - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The law will \u2018go further than any other country,\u2019 also restricting kids\u2019 ability to talk to strangers in online games.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2115\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Under-16 social media ban announced by UK government - 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