U.K. to Ban Social Media for Children Under 16

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a ban on social media for children under 16.

In an address, he said such a decision was not being taken “lightly.” According to Starmer, social media has undoubtedly brought benefits, but the state must choose to protect children.

“Social media makes children unhappy. It facilitates bullying and harassment and may even harm their mental health. It exposes them to dangerous content because that is what attracts attention. It is deliberately designed to be addictive,” he said.

Starmer also said the platforms prevent children from studying, resting and developing: they “get in the way of doing homework, reading, meeting friends, going to bed on time and ultimately harm their development.”

According to the prime minister, he is counting on parents’ support and does not intend to compromise on the issue. “I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must be introduced, and it will be introduced,” Starmer said.

The new rules are planned to be adopted before Christmas. They could come into force as early as next spring. Starmer also clarified that fines would target platforms, not children.

He also said that services not covered by the full ban would have to prevent children from communicating with strangers.

The initiative has already drawn criticism from technology companies. YouTube said that “outright bans push children out of these curated and supervised safe environments and toward anonymous and less safe services.” Snapchat, for its part, warned that such measures could “simply redirect them to less safe platforms.”

Starmer separately noted that services such as YouTube Kids would not fall under the ban because they lack the features that raise the main concerns.