The social media ban for children under the age of 16 in the U.K. is official. Prime Minister and Labour Party boss Keir Starmer unveiled landmark legislation on Monday, which will make the likes of X, Facebook, YouTube, SnapChat and TikTok unavailable to under-16s in a move that follows the lead of Australia, where such a ban was launched late last year.
Not covered are messaging services, such as WhatsApp.
Promising “world-leading action,” the U.K. government said on Monday: “Children will be given back their childhoods,” with “less time for scrolling and more time for play. The plans will set a new normal for future generations, kickstarting a cultural shift and driving forward the government’s fight to give every child the best start in life.”
Added the administration: “The government plans to use the same model for a social media ban as Australia. This would capture user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material, alongside algorithms. The ban will therefore include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. We do not intend for messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal to be included in the social media ban.”
