British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Monday that the United Kingdom will ban children under 16 from accessing major social media platforms, describing the move as “world-leading” in its scope. The ban will cover TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, Snapchat, Threads, Twitch, Kick and Reddit.
The decision follows a national consultation that drew 116,000 responses, the second-highest response to any UK government consultation on record, behind only the 2012 process on equal marriage. Nine in ten parents who responded said they wanted to see such a ban. The government said the response rate reflected widespread concern about the impact of social media on children’s mental health and development.
The ban goes further than the Australian-style restriction that the UK had been studying. Starmer said additional measures would include curbs on AI chatbots targeted at young people, restrictions on certain gaming app features, and a curfew designed to prevent older teenagers from late-night scrolling. The exact enforcement mechanisms are yet to be set out in full, but platforms that fail to verify user ages will face significant financial penalties.
The announcement was timed ahead of the G7 summit in Évian, where digital regulation and AI governance are on the agenda. Starmer has positioned the move as part of a broader effort to give governments more control over how technology platforms operate in relation to children. The UK is the first major European democracy to legislate a hard age cutoff for social media access.
Technology companies have raised concerns about the enforcement challenges of age verification. Current verification methods rely largely on self-declaration or credit card checks, neither of which reliably excludes under-16s. The government has indicated it expects platforms to develop more robust solutions, including device-level age checks, within a defined transition period.
Mental health groups broadly welcomed the announcement, though some organisations noted that a ban alone does not address the algorithms and content policies that they say drive harmful behaviour. Schools and youth organisations said they supported the principle but called on the government to pair the ban with expanded digital literacy education and mental health services.
The ban also extends to restrictions on AI chatbot interactions for young people. The government cited concerns about minors forming emotional attachments to AI companions and about chatbots providing harmful advice to vulnerable users. Details of which chatbot categories will be covered are expected in the full legislative text.
Bloomberg reported that Starmer will use the Évian summit to share the policy approach with other G7 governments and to push for coordinated international standards on age verification. France and Canada have indicated interest in similar measures. A timeline for the UK legislation to pass through Parliament has not yet been confirmed.
