The House of Lords had backed a move to ban under-16s in the UK from social media platforms in January.

The proposed age limit, which aimed to address concerns over online harms, was defeated in a Commons vote by 307 to 173, a majority of 134

The House of Lords had backed a move to ban under-16s in the UK from social media platforms in January.

An amendment that would have barred children younger than 16 in Britain from accessing social media sites and apps suffered a heavy defeat in a vote in parliament.