British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that under-16s will face a social media ban by spring 2027 to protect their mental health. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall called the step a defining moment during a Commons address, saying it would give power back to parents. The restrictions will cover major platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X but exempt WhatsApp and Signal, according to the government.
The ban will require platforms to use age-assurance technologies such as ID verification, facial recognition or credit card checks to block underage access. Kendall outlined additional curbs on high-risk features including stranger messaging, livestreaming and certain gaming interactions that allow contact with strangers. The government said it had studied Australia’s similar ban where up to 70 percent of children circumvented restrictions and would also prohibit sexualised AI chatbots for under-18s while considering curfews on app use.
This announcement forms part of the UK’s expanding oversight of online activity that has developed through the Online Safety Act passed in 2023. Ofcom published guidance in April 2025 requiring platforms to complete children’s risk assessments with full child safety measures due by summer 2025, a government explainer stated. The latest measures follow a national consultation on children’s online experiences that closed in May 2026 and drew more than 116,000 responses.
A freedom of information report obtained by The Times showed UK police made more than 12,000 arrests in 2023 for offensive online messages under communications and malicious communications laws. The data indicated an average of around 30 such arrests per day with the annual total having more than doubled since 2017 though fewer than one in ten arrests resulted in a sentence. The figures highlight enforcement against content causing annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety.
Following the 2024 riots that followed misinformation about the Southport stabbing more than 1,280 people had been arrested by the end of August according to House of Commons Library data. BBC reporting found more than 30 of those arrests related directly to social media posts with at least 17 people charged for material that incited violence or stirred hatred. Police forces pursued cases involving posts deemed to pose risks to public order during the unrest.
Industry representatives expressed support for protecting children but warned the ban could prove a blunt instrument that prompts backlash and widespread circumvention according to the BBC live coverage. Elon Musk described the UK’s approach as turning the country into a “police state” over online tracking and censorship. Liberal Democrats criticised the policy as a panicked response that failed to address root causes after months of government delay.
Starmer indicated the ban should be operational by next spring supported by new regulations expected before the end of 2026. Experts offered mixed views on its potential to improve children’s mental health citing limited direct evidence that blocking access would produce the desired outcomes. Teachers suggested possible benefits for sleep and school concentration although many children were likely to find ways around the restrictions using alternative tools.
