UK to ban under-16s from social media by 2027: Starmer acts on children's safety, sparking welcome and worry

What the ban covers

The government will block under-16s from accessing platforms that rely on algorithms and user-generated content, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, X, Discord and Twitch. Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are exempt, and educational apps like YouTube Kids will remain available. Beyond account bans, ministers plan to outlaw live-streaming for minors, ban communication with strangers inside games, and examine overnight curfews and a prohibition on infinite scrolling.

Social media is making children unhappy. It's making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health, exposing them to content that is dangerous because that's what grabs the attention.

The policy requires Apple and Google to carry out age verification through AI selfie checks, bank details or physical ID. A consultation that drew 116,000 responses showed 9 in 10 parents back the measure. The rules are expected to take effect in spring 2027, once legislation passes Parliament.

Political fallout

Former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, who resigned last month after Labour's local election losses, told Sky News' Electoral Dysfunction podcast the ban would have kept her in government. "I was explicit about that," she said, adding she had pushed Number 10 to adopt the idea. Phillips called for the algorithm itself to be abolished.

This would've been enough to keep me in the tent. I told them that. I spoke to various different people in Number 10 and really tried to push them to say, look, go for this. This is a bold move, and it is big and it is brave and it's the right thing to do.

Starmer framed the decision as a legacy project. In a Downing Street briefing he said he was "giving children their childhood back." Technology minister Liz Kendall told the Commons the ban would stop "vile child abuse" by shutting livestreams and stranger-contact in gaming.

Families and schools respond

Stuart Stephens, whose 13-year-old son Olly was stabbed to death in 2021 after a social media dispute, told the BBC the ban would have saved his child. "If we had had this 10 years ago, when all of this tech was starting to surface, then a lot of us, our children would still be here," he said. He and other bereaved parents want to help shape the legislation.

I'd still have my son — there's no two ways about it. No child should be targeted under 16 for social media — it is addictive, it is corruptive, it is corrosive and it's predatory.

At Thomas Hardye School in Dorset, assistant head Rachel Glennie said a phone-pouch trial had already improved concentration. She noted that many parents felt "out of control" over smartphone use. Other teenagers were split: Bhavika at Lyng Hall School in Coventry said the ban meant more time outside, while classmate Elian said she was "really devastated" and preferred in-app restrictions. A Tarleton pupil went viral telling a BBC reporter she would fill her freed time by staring at a wall.

International context and next steps

1. Jan 1, 2026Australia enforces under-16s social media ban, deactivating existing teen accounts
2. Jun 15, 2026PM Keir Starmer announces UK ban on social media for children under 16
3. Apr 1, 2027Ban expected to become legally binding across the UK, with platforms required to enforce age checks

Australia enforced its own under-16s social media ban in January 2026, deactivating existing teen accounts. Meta said it blocked around 550,000 accounts in the first few days. The UK government says its version is more sweeping because it also targets gaming services and livestreams. Full details of how schools, parents and tech firms will manage the roll-out are still being drafted, but the government frames spring 2027 as the point when the law must be operational.