Britain will prohibit children under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X beginning in early 2027, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday.
The ban covers the six largest consumer platforms in Britain. YouTube Kids and messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are exempt. Companies that fail to take reasonable steps to block underage users from their services face multimillion-pound fines. Enforcement actions will target platforms, not children, Starmer said.
“Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy,” Starmer said at a press event Monday. “I’ve heard first-hand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them.”
The announcement came after the British government received 116,000 public comments during a review of children’s online safety. More than 90 percent of respondents supported an outright ban on social media access for children under 16, officials said.
Britain is following the framework established by Australia, which last year became the first country to enact a law banning under-16s from holding social media accounts. The U.K. plan mirrors Australia’s model: the government will place compliance obligations on the tech companies themselves rather than on parents or minors.
Alongside the social media restriction, Starmer announced companion measures. Gaming and livestreaming platforms will be required to block strangers from contacting minors. Artificial intelligence chatbots designed to simulate romantic or sexual relationships will be restricted to users 18 and older. Authorities are also weighing overnight usage curfews and mandatory breaks in infinite scrolling features for users under 18, with specifics expected next month.
Tech companies immediately objected. A YouTube spokesperson warned that restricting access would harm children rather than protect them. “Blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less-safe services,” the spokesperson said. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, echoed the concern, saying the ban would send teenagers to online alternatives that lack any parental controls.
Starmer dismissed the argument. “Teenagers drink before they should, but we do not then say, ‘in which case let us abandon any attempt to stop them buying alcohol,'” he said.
Britain joins a growing list of nations moving to limit children’s access to social media. Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia have enacted legislation or formal restrictions. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand, and South Korea are developing or considering comparable measures.
The announcement gave Starmer a domestic policy victory at a difficult moment. He is facing internal pressure from members of his own Labour Party who have questioned his leadership in recent weeks. “I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children,” he said Monday.
No date has been set for parliamentary action on the bill. Starmer said implementation is expected in early 2027.
