Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain will ban children younger than 16 from using major social media apps, including TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, as part of a broader push to protect minors online.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Britain will move to ban children under 16 from using major social media platforms, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday, pledging to impose new restrictions on technology companies as his government seeks to curb children’s exposure to harmful content, excessive screen time and unsafe online interactions.
Starmer said the planned ban, expected to take effect early next year, will apply to platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. The restrictions will not apply to YouTube Kids or messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal.
Speaking at a news conference, Starmer said the government is prepared to confront technology companies if they resist the policy. He acknowledged that some teenagers may try to evade the restrictions but said enforcement will focus on platforms rather than children.
“Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy,” said Starmer, who has two teenage children. “I’ve heard first hand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them.”
He added that he is “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children.”
The U.K. plan follows Australia’s model. Australia last year became the first country to bar children under 16 from holding social media accounts. Under the British proposal, companies that fail to take reasonable steps to keep underage users off their platforms could face multimillion-dollar fines.
Starmer said Britain intends to go further than Australia by targeting other online spaces where children may face risk. The government plans to prevent strangers from contacting children on gaming and livestreaming platforms and is considering additional restrictions, including overnight curfews and mandatory breaks in infinite scrolling for users under 18.
More details are expected next month.
The announcement places Britain within a widening international debate over children’s access to social media. Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions or requirements. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are among the countries studying or developing similar policies.
Starmer said world leaders increasingly recognize the need to address children’s online safety.
“I honestly think that across world leaders, there has always been a recognition that leaders have to take steps to protect children,” he said. “I don’t think that’s controversial. There will always be arguments as to exactly what the limits of that are and what rules should be in place, but I don’t see that as a problem.”
The government’s decision followed a public comment period that drew 116,000 responses from parents, children and representatives of the technology industry. Officials said it was the second-largest response to a public consultation in Britain, behind a 2012 consultation on same-sex marriage.
More than 90% of respondents supported a ban for children under 16, according to the government.
Supporters of the measure include Esther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was killed in 2023 by two teenagers who had accessed harmful online content. Ghey said the ban could “potentially save so many children’s lives,” but said it should be paired with additional safeguards.
The NSPCC, a leading children’s charity, praised the government’s goal but urged officials to ensure platforms implement “robust age checks” and enforce the rules effectively.
The proposal has also drawn criticism from digital rights advocates and technology companies. Critics including the Open Rights Group have raised concerns about age verification firms and how private user data would be handled.
A YouTube spokesperson warned Monday that broad restrictions on social media could “push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less-safe services.”
Jon Crowcroft, a communications systems professor at the University of Cambridge, said the effort may be well intentioned but difficult to implement and could have unintended consequences.
“There is a real risk this will drive some users to worse sites and policing devices is close to impossible technically,” Crowcroft said. “Policing platforms is far easier, if only regulators would bother.”
The policy may also add tension to relations between Britain and the United States. The U.S. Embassy in London has warned that online regulations should be narrowly tailored and should not violate free speech protections. The embassy also said it was concerned that new rules could place heavier burdens on American technology companies.
Starmer said he expects to discuss the issue with President Donald Trump and other world leaders at the Group of Seven summit in France, which begins Monday.
The announcement comes as Starmer faces political pressure at home less than two years after his election. Some members of his own party have questioned his leadership, and he could face a leadership challenge in the coming days or weeks. The social media ban is among the consequential policies his government is seeking to advance as he looks to establish a lasting record in office.
Starmer said success would mean “a massive drop off of children on social media” and a broader cultural shift in how young people grow up online.
The government says the goal is not to punish children, but to force platforms to take greater responsibility for keeping underage users away from services officials say can expose them to harmful content and unhealthy patterns of use.
Original article
Comments