The restriction will come into effect next year and the government plans to introduce limits on daily social media use for 16- and 17-year-olds to end late-night scrolling.Jana Rodenbusch/Reuters
Britain is joining Canada, Australia and several other countries in introducing a social-media ban for children under the age of 16.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that the restriction will come into effect next year and prevent children from accessing apps such as TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Threads.
Children will also be prevented from chatting with strangers on platforms not covered by the ban, such as gaming apps. And the government plans to introduce limits on daily social-media use for 16- and 17-year-olds to end late-night scrolling.
“This is a big step, a real change for our children and our future,” Mr. Starmer said. “And I want this message to be heard loud and clear: I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children. And that is why this ban must happen − and that is why this ban will happen.”
Mr. Starmer said the government will draw up regulations by the end of this year so the measures can be in place in early 2027. Social-media companies will face punishments if they fail to comply, although there are few details yet on how the new rules will be enforced.
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The Prime Minister had been reluctant to impose a ban but said on Monday that he’d been persuaded by a consultation process this spring. The government said more than 90 per cent of the 39,116 parents who participated in the consultation supported restrictions.
Australia introduced the world’s first ban last December and blocked under-16s from using 10 platforms – TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch and Kick.
A report released in March from that country’s eSafety Commissioner found that while some five million age-restricted accounts had been removed, “a substantial proportion” of children have managed to keep their accounts, create new ones and get around age-verification systems.
A poll of 898 people by the Australian commissioner also found that of the parents whose children had accounts prior to the ban, nearly 70 per cent said their kids still had accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
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Canada has also introduced legislation that would require social-media companies to block children under 16 from having accounts on similar apps. However, the Canadian law would allow companies to seek exemptions if they can demonstrate they have implemented appropriate safeguards.
Mr. Starmer said he accepted that young people would find ways around the law. “They try to get around all of the laws that we put in place to protect them. Teenagers drink before they should. But we don’t then say, in which case, let’s abandon any attempt to stop them buying alcohol. We say: Let’s improve the enforcement of what we are doing,” he said.
He said the ban would be enforced through “highly effective age assurance” systems. Some verification systems, including facial age estimation using digital cameras, are already in use for access to adult content, but it isn’t clear how that would be expanded to the new ban.
Britain’s Office of Communications, which regulates the industry, said in a statement that it was “ready to work closely with them as the detailed regulations take shape.”
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Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son, Jools Roome, died in 2022 after an online challenge went wrong, welcomed Mr. Starmer’s announcement. “To actually hear him step up and do this is phenomenal. I thought it was a very good speech,” she told the BBC. “It was very powerful. The devil will be in the detail as to how this actually happens.”
However, others have criticized the ban, saying it will be ineffective without real change from social-media companies.
The ban will “fail to tackle fundamental product-safety risk issues and leaves parents with a false sense of safety,” said Andy Burrows, the chief executive of Molly Rose Foundation, which is named after Molly Russell, a 14-year-old who died by suicide after exposure to self-harm content on social media. “A majority of children will continue to use high-risk sites that will have no incentive to implement robust protections.”
Mr. Starmer made the announcement just days before a crucial by-election in a Manchester-area constituency Thursday, which could determine how long he remains in office. Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is widely expected to win the by-election for Labour and launch a challenge of Mr. Starmer’s leadership.
Mr. Starmer has vowed to fend off any challenge, but his leadership has come under increasing pressure. Some 100 Labour MPs have called on him to step down. He has also faced a series of high-profile resignations in recent days, including defence secretary John Healey, who quit last week and accused Mr. Starmer of being unwilling to commit to an increase in defence spending.
Mr. Starmer rejected suggestions there was any connection between Monday’s announcement and the by-election. “That’s not what it’s about. This is a statement of values, who we are as a country,” he said. “For me this is bigger than some of the usual tos-and-fros of politics.”