Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to announce a crackdown on children's access to social media within days, pressing ahead despite warnings from the Trump administration that a blanket ban would harm free speech.
The prime minister is expected to set out the new policy in a speech next week, which also happens to be a crucial week for him: he will spend several days at the annual G7 summit in France, while the Makerfield by-election takes place on Thursday. The timing has drawn criticism: the New Statesman reported that Starmer's team briefed the press on 8 June that a ban was coming, in what was described as a “last-ditch attempt to win over Labour MPs before Andy Burnham’s possible return to parliament.”
“Starmer to announce social media ban for under-16s within days, defying US warnings against blanket restrictions.”
The move comes after a government consultation on a ban closed on May 26, receiving around 120,000 responses – the second-largest government consultation in history, after equal marriage in 2012. Of the parents who responded, 90% said they would back an Australian-style ban on under-16s using social media.
But the US embassy in London has objected. In its response to the consultation, the embassy said the US preferred “narrowly targeted requirements” for adult content “rather than broad social media bans”. It argued that “most content should remain accessible by default, including political speech,” and warned that technology was not yet good enough to determine a user's age, which could “impose disproportionate compliance burdens on American companies.”
Starmer’s official spokesman said the prime minister was “focused on what’s right for families here and now, and into the future.” Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, told Sky News she would not be “swayed in any way, shape or form from doing what I believe is right for children in this country,” adding that she was “much more bothered about the parents who have replied to the consultation.”
The prime minister was previously resistant to restrictions. According to the New Statesman, up until January, when more than 60 Labour MPs signed an open letter calling for a ban, Starmer was not in favour. He had barely engaged with the issue and told MPs his own children valued social media. His mind changed, reportedly, after a meeting last month with bereaved parents whose children’s deaths were linked to social media, and after surveying evidence from Australia, which brought in a ban in December 2025 covering ten platforms including TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has repeatedly called for a ban, telling the BBC: “Social media is for adults, it’s not for children.” The Liberal Democrats have urged Starmer not to be “bullied into watering down protections for children online” by US pressure.
When the consultation closed, Starmer vowed to take “decisive” measures which he promised would be a “game-changer.” Now, he appears ready to deliver – but questions remain over whether a ban will survive opposition from Washington and whether it will address deeper causes of children's unhappiness. As the New Statesman noted, “We need to look at our children and ask why they are so unhappy.”