A UK under-16 social media ban, for years a fringe idea, is now days from becoming government policy. Ministers are expected to outline the plan to Parliament on Monday, ahead of the 18 June Makerfield by-election, according to POLITICO, which cited people familiar with discussions inside the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and No. 10. The timing could still slip.
The political logic is hard to miss. An embattled Keir Starmer, fighting to stay in office, wants a clear win, and the public mood is with him. The government’s “national conversation” on growing up online drew more than 116,000 submissions, the biggest response since the Conservatives proposed legalising same-sex marriage in 2012.
The government said last week that 89 per cent of parents who replied backed a legal minimum age of access for social media.
The powers are already in place. Part 3 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which received royal assent on 29 April, lets ministers impose age or functionality restrictions through regulations, without passing a fresh law each time technology shifts.
What they are expected to target, POLITICO reported, is access to certain platforms plus livestreaming, disappearing messages, and features that let adults contact children. Curfews for 16- and 17-year-olds are still under discussion, and the government has not said which platforms will be covered.
