Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to ban under-16s from social media by early 2027, saying he is “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children”.
The prime minister announced that platforms including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X will become inaccessible for children, with legislation expected before Christmas and the ban coming into force in spring 2027. “We hope to pass regulation before Christmas,” he said.
“PM Starmer announces UK ban on under-16s from social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok from spring 2027.”
Exemptions include messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal, online gaming platform Roblox, and YouTube Kids. However, certain features will be restricted for under-16s, including livestreaming and contact from strangers. For 16- and 17-year-olds, livestreaming and stranger communication will be switched off by default, and the government will also consider restrictions on infinite scroll and digital curfews. Intimate and sexual chats with AI will be banned for under-18s.
The government said over-16s may need to verify their age to continue using social media, but many adults will not require checks because their accounts are already over 16, linked to a credit card, or have verified emails.
Tech companies reacted with alarm. Snapchat said it shared the objective of online safety but disagreed with a full ban. Meta warned a ban risked “isolating teens from online communities and information, and driving them to unregulated alternatives”. YouTube called itself “a vital resource for young people, educators and parents” and said “blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less safe services”. TikTok said it would examine the government’s measures “constructively”.
Campaigners welcomed the move. Joe Ryrie, co-founder of the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign group, said: “Millions of children will now get a few more years to grow up before entering online environments that were never designed with their wellbeing in mind.”
But some teenagers directly affected by the curbs criticised the plan. Mia, 16, from Scotland, said: “I will finish school when I’m 17 and go to university when I’m 17, but wouldn’t be able to livestream? It makes no sense. If I can vote, leave home, get married, pay tax, and join the army, why can’t I use my phone how I would like?”
Robert, 16, from south-east England, said the policy had been “rushed out more as a political win than as an evidence-based solution”. He added: “The government has no answers to any ‘how?’ questions, only the response that this is ‘Australia plus’… Australia plus what, and how?”
Nate*, 16, from South Wales, said: “The curfews for 16- and 17-year-olds is also utterly ridiculous. At this age, we can have sex. Why should we have a bedtime like we’re babies?”
Labour MP Jess Phillips suggested the ban might have changed her recent decision to resign. She said she would not have quit if Sir Keir Starmer had announced the ban earlier.
The ban follows growing pressure from campaigners and is part of an international trend of governments restricting young people’s access to social media.