UK ban on social media for under 16s

On 15 June 2026, the UK's government announced a proposal to ban social media for under 16s with the objective of protecting children and preserving childhood. The UK government indicated that it plans to use the same model as Australia (which introduced a ban on social media platforms for under 16s in December 2025) capturing user-to-user platforms which have the purpose of enabling social interactions and allowing the posting of user-generated content, and therefore include all major social media platforms. However, the UK government has indicated that mobile messaging apps, educational services, e-commerce platforms and music platforms will be excluded from the ban.

Notably, the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer indicated that the ban intends on "going further than any country in the world" by also:

• introducing restrictions on harmful functionality, such as live streaming and stranger communication (i.e. the ability for unknown users to contact and communicate) with under 16s. These functionality restrictions will apply to a wider range of online services than social media platforms, including video games sites. The UK government has said that these restrictions will be applied by default for 16 and 17 year olds to prevent a "cliff edge" from the protection afforded by the social media ban when children reach the age of 16; and
• exploring overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under 18s.

In her letter to Ofcom, the Secretary of State confirmed that the UK government will ensure that Ofcom has sufficient funding to carry out its new responsibilities in enforcing the social media ban while also continuing its work to enforce the existing requirements of the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA) and in particular those provisions protecting women and girls online, tackling harmful and taking action against illegal activity.

The latest proposal follows the UK government’s previous proposals to restrict children’s access to online services which were debated between the House of Commons and House of Lords on 27 April 2026 as part of the  final stages of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026 and is now the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (the Act).  As noted in our previous article, the Act introduced amendments relevant to the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA). However, back in April, the UK government had resisted calls to introduce an immediate statutory ban on under-16s’ access to social media instead leaving in powers in the Act to amend or implement existing legislation through secondary legislation at a later stage for the purpose of protecting children from risks of harm (including harm arising from content). In addition to the OSA powers, the Act also contains provisions enabling the government to amend the age of consent for data processing in relation to information society services (within a range of 13 to 16), and to introduce associated age verification requirements through secondary legislation.

What next?

In terms of next steps, the Secretary of State (Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP) has written (15 June 2026) to the new Chair of Ofcom (Sir Ian Cheshire) to ask for an urgent review of Ofcom's enforcement capabilities and a clear strategy. Ofcom is now conducting a study on what highly effective age assurance looks like for determining whether someone is over 16 which is expected to be published in October 2026.

In the meantime, the UK government’s full response to the consultation will be published in July 2026, setting out further details and decisions on the other policy areas.  Once both are published, the UK Government's attention will likely turn to the development of detailed regulations under the new powers. Such developments will be in addition to existing requirements in relation to children's safety online including OSA children's access assessments and the ICO's Children Code (Age Appropriate Design Code).