The UK government’s announcement on Monday that it will ban under-16s from social media has already jolted tech giants into action. Roblox, the gaming platform hugely popular with children, revealed new safety measures — including tools to estimate a user’s age — just as the ban was confirmed.
But ministers have named only six platforms so far: Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. The ban will closely follow Australia’s, where Kick, Reddit, Threads and Twitch are also blocked for under-16s. That leaves gaming sites like Roblox in limbo.
“UK government announces under-16 social media ban, but uncertainty remains over platforms like Roblox and YouTube Kids.”
“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.” Roblox itself has made changes to protect child users, including expanding age-estimation tools to determine what games and experiences they can access. However, the government has said that all platforms, including gaming services, must disable features that allow strangers to communicate with children. Children will still be able to play multiplayer online games, the government added.
YouTube is included in the ban — but YouTube Kids is not. It remains unclear how YouTube would prevent children accessing the platform through search without an account, or how educational content could be carved out. YouTube said it was a “vital resource for young people” and that a ban risked pushing children towards “anonymous, less safe services”. Citing research with consultancy Livity, Google said 95% of UK teens surveyed said watching videos helps with school work.
The government says it will provide an update on further restrictions — such as curfews or curbs on “addictive” features like infinite scroll and AI chatbots — in July. But many questions remain unanswered, including how the ban will be enforced on virtual private networks (VPNs) that can disguise a user’s location.