UK to ban TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media platforms for children under 16

• The UK plans to ban under-16s from using major social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, X and YouTube to improve child safety online.

• The government will introduce stronger age-verification measures, while additional protections such as overnight curfews and scrolling limits for under-18s are also being considered.

• The proposal has strong public support, with nine in 10 parents backing the ban, though campaigners say its success will depend on effective enforcement against tech companies.

The UK government has announced plans to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing major social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, X and YouTube, in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as a move to "give kids their childhood back."

The policy follows a nationwide public consultation that attracted more than 116,000 responses from parents, children, educators and experts. The government said it will adopt a model similar to the one introduced in Australia, where age restrictions have been tightened for social media users.

Under the proposal, all user-to-user social media platforms will be covered by the ban. The restrictions will also target features considered particularly risky for young users, including livestreaming and communication with strangers. Some gaming platforms that include these functions will also be affected.

However, messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal will remain exempt from the ban, according to government officials.

The government said protections will not stop abruptly once a child turns 16. Instead, restrictions will automatically apply to 16- and 17-year-olds by default to avoid what ministers described as a "cliff-edge at 16."

Further measures are also being considered. These include overnight social media curfews and mandatory breaks from scrolling for users under the age of 18. More details on those proposals are expected next month.

Announcing the decision, Starmer said he had heard directly from families concerned about the impact of social media on children.

"I’ve heard first hand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them," he said.

"That’s why we’re going further than any country in the world by banning social media for under-16s and putting wider protections in place to give kids their childhood back.

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"This is a line in the sand. Tech giants had their chance and failed, but we’re stepping in to protect children, back parents and set a new normal for future generations."

To enforce the new rules, the government plans to introduce stronger age-verification systems known as Highly Effective Age Assurance (HEAA) measures. These are designed to make it much harder for children to bypass age restrictions online.

The UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, has been tasked with conducting a rapid review into the most effective methods of verifying whether a user is over the age of 16.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has also written to the incoming Chair of Ofcom, requesting an urgent assessment of the regulator's enforcement powers and a clear strategy for ensuring compliance.

Support for the proposal appears strong among parents. Government consultation findings showed that nine out of ten parents support a social media ban for under-16s. Meanwhile, around two-thirds of young people who participated said children younger than 16 should not have access to at least some social media platforms.

Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza welcomed the move but warned that its success would depend on how effectively it is enforced.

"Banning certain social media platforms for under 16s and stopping children accessing harmful functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication – is a positive response to what children have been telling me. However, these measures will only be as strong as their enforcement – which I will be watching closely.

"We need to reset the debate – from banning children to banning the companies who fail to show that their services protect children’s safety and wellbeing. My position remains that any online service - not just social media, but gaming and other platforms - that uses harmful features should be banned from accessing under-18s unless and until it can prove it is safe.

"This is a decision that will define childhood – we must listen to young people and put their interests first."

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, also backed the proposal.

"This is a turning point in the fight to protect children online. For too long Big Tech companies have designed systems that hook children early, keep them online for as long as possible, and profit from their attention – even when it exposes them to harm. This decision is a necessary step towards stopping that exploitation.

"The test now is whether ministers are willing to keep standing up to Big Tech and enforce this properly."

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The announcement comes amid growing concerns about the impact of social media on children's mental health, online safety and privacy. Researchers and child protection advocates have increasingly called for stronger regulation of digital platforms used by minors.

Last month, Dr Francis Rees, a law lecturer at the University of Essex and principal investigator for the Child Influencer Project, warned about the risks associated with parents sharing large amounts of content featuring their children online.

"When very young children appear in online content, they are not simply joining in with a family routine, but are contributing to an attention economy that does not have the safeguards that exist in more traditional child performance settings," she said.

If approved, the UK ban would become one of the most far-reaching attempts by a major country to limit children's access to social media and other online platforms.