British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday announced a ban on social media for children under 16, pledging legislation before Christmas and a first set of rules in spring 2027 covering Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.
The move makes the United Kingdom the second major economy to wall off teenagers from the largest consumer platforms, after Australia's ban took effect in December, and pulls a fight over child safety, addictive design and age verification into the British regulatory state.
What the ban covers
The legislation will model itself on Australia's law but go beyond it, the government said, by blocking livestreaming and communication with strangers for users under 16 and turning on similar protections by default for 16- and 17-year-olds. Officials are also weighing overnight curfews and limits on infinite scrolling for minors, with more detail promised in July. Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are not in scope.
"We're going further than any country in the world by banning social media for under-16s and putting wider protections in place to give kids their childhood back," Starmer said in a statement. At a Monday press conference he said social media is making children unhappy and is designed to be addictive.
The political backdrop
The announcement landed alongside results from a national consultation that drew more than 116,000 responses between March 2 and May 26. More than 83 percent of parents who responded said the risks of social media outweighed the benefits, and 90 percent supported a minimum access age of 16, according to figures released by Downing Street.
Last week Starmer gave Apple, Google and other device makers three months to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images before the government legislates. Over the weekend the U.K. announced a separate £132.5 million "Every Child Can" program to fund sports, art and nature activities in schools as an alternative to screens.
"Tech companies have had countless opportunities to keep children safe, yet they have failed to act. That is why we are taking power away from the tech giants and putting it back in parents' hands," Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said.
The counterpoint
Industry and researchers argue the approach will misfire. A YouTube spokesperson told CNBC the company has invested in "expert-led, age-appropriate experiences and default protections for teens" and warned that "blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less safe services." Critics cited by CNBC say workarounds are already visible: a BBC report found downloads of VPNs, which hide a user's location to defeat country restrictions, climbed in Australia ahead of its ban. Australia's eSafety Commission found in March that seven in 10 parents reported their child still had an account on a newly restricted platform. Conservative and free-speech critics in Britain had not publicly weighed in by press time.
Starmer said he discussed the plan with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday and would raise it again at this afternoon's G7 meeting. The bill is due in Parliament before Christmas.