LONDON (dpa-AFX) - In a landmark move, the UK government has banned Social media platforms to under-16s.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the Social media platforms will be blocked from offering services to children below this age group to protect kids with world-leading additional restrictions on harmful features online such as live streaming and strangers communicating with children.
The proposal, which the government claims to have the support of 9 in 10 parents in UK, is expected to be brought to Parliament before Christmas, with protections expected to come into force in Spring 2027.
The government plans to use the same model for a social media ban as Australia. The ban will include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. The government made it clear that messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal will be excluded in the social media ban.
In a move to protect children online and address the scale of the challenge, the government will also go further than a blanket ban on social media with world-leading blocks on?harmful functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication with children for under-16s. These restrictions, which will be one of the toughest social media bans than any other country, will apply to a wider range of online services, including on gaming sites.
Restrictions on these functionalities will also be on by default for 16- and 17-year-olds to prevent a cliff-edge at 16. The government will also be looking in more detail at overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18-year-olds and will set out more detail in July.
So-called AI 'romantic companion' chatbots - designed to simulate sexual relationships or roleplay with users - will have to enforce a minimum age of 18. Similar intimate functionalities will be restricted for under-18s on AI chatbots more widely.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, 'Parents want to keep their kids safe and happy, but the online world has made that harder than ever.'
'I've heard first hand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them. That's why 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.
The government will also learn the lessons from Australia's experience by introducing more highly effective age assurance (HEAA) measures to support compliance, making it far harder for children to bypass safeguards.
Ofcom will conduct a rapid study on what is effective age assurance for verifying whether someone is over 16. The Secretary of State has also written to the new Chair of Ofcom to ask for an urgent review of Ofcom's enforcement capabilities with a clear enforcement strategy to be published as soon as possible.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
