UK plans to ban under-16s from social media in 2027

The United Kingdom has announced it will block children under 16 from a range of social media platforms, with the ban due to take effect in early 2027.

Sir Keir Starmer said the plan was "the right step for Britain" and the best way to keep children safe online. "I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children," he said, adding that he would fight back if technology companies tried to resist.

The move makes Britain part of a wider global push to tighten online safety for children. Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have already brought in laws or announced age-based limits on children's use of social media.

Australia was the first country in the world to act, and has banned all under-16s from social media since December, stopping them from using or setting up accounts on apps such as TikTok, X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat.

Last October, Prime Minister Robert Abela had announced that Malta would introduce social media age regulations, with initial restrictions for users under 13 that may be extended to older age groups.

Other countries, including Spain, Denmark and South Korea, are still studying or developing similar laws, while France has been debating whether to ban all social media for teenagers or to target only certain platforms.

The British decision follows a public comment period that drew 116,000 responses from parents, the technology industry and children. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the study found that 90% of parents, including young people, wanted a ban for under-16s, though she added that it should form part of a wider set of measures.

The ban will cover platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. The government has not released a full list, but said it would apply to platforms "whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material.”

Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are not intended to be included.

Platforms will also have to stop children from livestreaming across apps, including on gaming platforms, and block functions that let strangers contact under-16s.

These limits would be switched on by default for under-17s as well, the government said, "to prevent a cliff-edge at 16.” Ministers are also looking at curfews to stop 16 and 17-year-olds from scrolling late at night, with more detail due in July.

There will be new rules for artificial intelligence: AI "romantic companion" chatbots, which are built to simulate sexual relationships or roleplay, will have to enforce a minimum age of 18, while AI chatbots more widely will have to restrict "intimate functionalities" for under-18s.

To keep children off the apps, the government urged firms to take "reasonable steps" to use age-assurance tools. These could include face or voice recognition, government IDs or "age inference" checks before a user logs in.

Most platforms already require children to be over 13.

Sir Keir, who is under pressure from members of his own party to step down over what they see as poor leadership, described the action as "world-leading" and said Britain would go further than Australia, including the curfews for older teenagers and the limits on AI chatbots.

The government plans to pass regulations before Christmas, allowing the measures to come into force in early 2027, and said it had already brought in legislation that lets it take this kind of action.