The UK government has launched a major consultation on potentially banning social media access for children under the age of 16. This move follows growing political pressure and comes just weeks after a similar landmark ban took effect in Australia.
What the UK Government's Consultation Involves
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced it will seek views on several options to protect young people online. Key proposals include increasing the digital age of consent and restricting addictive app design features like 'streaks' and 'infinite scrolling'.
The consultation announcement was timed ahead of a House of Lords vote on a Conservative amendment to the Labour government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This amendment would force platforms to block under-16s within a year of the law passing.
Alongside the consultation, the government has pledged immediate actions. These include directing Ofsted to scrutinise schools' mobile phone policies during inspections and producing official screen time guidance for parents of children aged 5 to 16. Guidance for under-fives is due in April.
Learning from Australia's Pioneering Ban
UK ministers plan to visit Australia as part of their research. Australia implemented its ban in December 2025, ordering ten major platforms to exclude under-16s or face fines of up to AU$49.5m (£25m).
The platforms affected by the Australian law include:
- Snapchat
- Threads
- TikTok
- Twitch
- X
- YouTube
- Kick
To comply, most companies are using age inference or estimation technology, analysing user behaviour or selfies to guess age. However, Elon Musk's X is the only platform among the initial ten that has not committed to compliance using these methods. The Australian government has stipulated that requesting ID cannot be the sole verification method.
Controversy and Support for the Proposed Ban
The potential UK ban has sparked a heated debate. Esther Ghey, mother of the murdered teenager Brianna, has written to party leaders calling a ban 'a vital step in protecting children online'. She revealed her daughter had a social media addiction and was in constant fear about online interactions.
Conversely, the proposal faces significant opposition. In Australia, over 140 academics signed an open letter arguing a blanket age limit is 'too blunt an instrument'. Two 15-year-olds in Sydney are also suing the government, claiming it denies them a right to political communication.
Tech giants have expressed concerns. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, called the Australian legislation a 'missed opportunity' and warned of accidental account shutdowns. YouTube's policy lead noted that signed-out under-16s could still view content, leaving parents with less supervisory control—a point Australian ministers criticised as 'outright weird'.
In the UK, school leaders' union NAHT warned of 'unintended consequences' and criticised the suggestion of Ofsted 'policing' phone policies as 'deeply unhelpful'. Meanwhile, the NSPCC welcomed the consultation, stating tech firms have 'prioritised profit over children's safety'.
The government's consultation will gather views from parents and young people throughout the spring, with a formal response expected in the summer of 2026.
