After a consultation, the UK is banning young people under the age of 16 from social networks such as TikTok and Instagram, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced. “This is a line in the sand,” the Prime Minister said in his Downing Street address. “Tech giants took a chance and failed, but we are stepping in to protect children, give back to parents and set a new normal for future generations.” The government aims to pass the law by the end of this year and start implementing it in the spring of 2027.
The plan includes not only bans on major social networks, but also restrictions on gaming apps. This includes preventing children under 16 from chatting with strangers, live streaming or using romantic chatbots. “These restrictions… go further than any other country,” a government press release said.
The UK will follow the same model as the social media ban in Australia. Platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X will be required to disable access for users under 16 by default. Chat apps like WhatsApp or Telegram will note that they are affected. The government is also considering stricter restrictions for under-18s, such as late night curfews and unlimited scrolling breaks.
Starmer acknowledged that children will find ways around the ban, but said that is not a good excuse for not legislating. “We are not saying that, look, a teenager was able to get a drink somehow, without bothering to ban the sale of alcohol to children,” he said. “Our laws are laws, but they are also a reflection of our values. They shape the social contract, so this will change the conversations parents have and the expectations of children over time.”
In January, the UK government launched a “Growing Up Online” consultation on children’s social media, asking for feedback on whether and how that restriction is applied. Ministers of state also traveled to Australia to study the effects of the country’s social media ban, which came into effect on December 10, 2025. Just a month after it was suspended, Meta had closed about 550,000 Australian accounts to comply with the law.
The results of a UK consultation showed that nine out of ten parents support a minimum age of 16 to access social media apps, the government said. At the same time, the PM added that the ban does not mean that the UK is against technology. “I don’t accept, and I will never accept that you can’t be pro tech and AI, and at the same time say we have to protect our children,” he said in a speech.
The creation of detailed rules and the implementation of the ban will be carried out by the UK technology regulator Ofcom in consultation with lawmakers. “To date, Ofcom has implemented some of the strongest changes in any internet security regulation in the world, from multi-year testing to protection of children’s editing. But the industry needs to go further to make people safer,” said Ofcom in an official statement. The government has yet to release information from ID or other enforcement mechanisms.
