The government has announced a ban on social media for under-16s, but with only six platforms explicitly named and no clarity on gaming sites like Roblox, the move is raising as many questions as it answers.
Ministers have specified Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X as included in the ban. But the restrictions will closely follow Australia’s, where Kick, Reddit, Threads and Twitch are also blocked. Roblox, immensely popular with children, remains in limbo. “It is not yet clear how they will treat gaming sites,” said Lorna Woods, professor of internet law at Essex University. “Though if they follow the Australian approach, these will lie outside the Australian ban.”
“UK announces under-16 social media ban, but details on which apps and gaming sites are included remain unclear”
Roblox, which has faced accusations of failing to keep children safe, has already announced new safety measures. It says it has expanded tools to estimate a user’s age to determine what games they can access. Regardless of whether it is banned, Roblox will still have to comply with the government’s requirement to disable features that let strangers communicate with children – a restriction the government says will also apply to gaming services. Children will still be able to play multiplayer online games.
YouTube’s inclusion has also sparked concern. The platform said it is a “vital resource for young people” and that a ban risks pushing children towards “anonymous, less safe services”. YouTube Kids will be exempt, but it is unclear how YouTube will prevent under-16s from accessing the main site via search without an account, or how educational content will be carved out. Google, citing research with consultancy Livity, says 95% of UK teens surveyed said watching videos helps with school work.
The government has promised an update in July on further restrictions, including potential curfews and curbing “addictive” features like infinite scroll and AI chatbots. But many are already asking whether enforcing the ban will mean cracking down on virtual private networks that can disguise a user’s location.
As the government prepares a “narrowly defined list” of platforms, the big question remains: what will this ban actually mean for children, parents and the tech giants caught in its sights?