UK to Ban Social Media Use for Under-16s

Starmer said the government was taking action on gaming services and live streaming platforms that allow strangers to contact children.

“Is there a situation in the offline world where you would just let your child pair up with a stranger? An adult that you don’t know about? No. So we’re taking action on that,” he said.

Canada’s culture minister last week introduced legislation that would ban children under 16 from having social media accounts and require AI chatbot services to limit production of harmful content.

Indonesia began enforcing its own social media ban for users under the age of 16 in March, while several European governments have announced similar intentions.

The UK government’s consultation on the issue, which closed in late May, attracted about 116,000 contributions, making it the second-largest response ever received.

More than 83 percent of parents who responded said the risks posed by social media outweighed the benefits for children, with 91 percent backing a minimum age of 16.

The announcement comes a week after the government said tech giants must stop children in Britain from being able to send and receive nude images on their devices.

Britain’s interior ministry said it was giving companies including Apple and Google three months to introduce safety features to block children from taking and accessing naked photos on phones and tablets.

Starmer’s centre-left Labour government said technology companies had a “moral responsibility” to protect children from coercion, abuse and sextortion.

According to analysis by the Internet Watch Foundation charity cited by the government, 91 percent of online child sexual abuse reports recorded in 2024 contained self-generated content from children themselves.