UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer has announced that children under 16 will be banned from social media.
Apps including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram are among those that will be included, said Sir Keir Starmer during a Downing Street press conference this morning
He said he hopes the measure will pass before Christmas, with the ban coming in by spring 2027.
The announcement comes after the vast majority of the 116,000 responses to the Government consultation, which closed last month, backed a minimum age of 16 before children can access social media platforms.
Starmer said he was not announcing the ban lightly, but will “not compromise on the safety and happiness of our children”.
The new measures will aim to protect young people from harm online and address unhealthy late-night scrolling on phones.
But Starmer says the government is not just “bringing forward a ban” but “going further” with “world-leading action” on gaming services and live streaming platforms, so strangers will not be able to contact children, he said.
The Prime Minister said a full ban on under-16s accessing social media sites was “the right choice”.
The father-of-two said: “This is not something I do lightly, and I will not present it as cost-free, as if social media has brought no benefits to young people, because clearly that is wrong.
“But Government is always about choices, and it’s clear to me that a full ban is the right choice.
“I come to it as a parent myself. I know exactly the fears that we all feel when we’re thinking about this issue.
“All I’ve ever wanted for my own children, hand on heart, is for them to be happy and for them to be safe, and I think that’s what any parent wants, but I ask the question now: Do we truly believe that social media creates a happy environment for our children?
“Do we truly believe that it’s a place where they can feel safe? I don’t think I even need to answer those questions, do I?
“Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy.”
He said it was “making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse” children and “could even be harming their mental health – exposing them to content that is dangerous, because that’s what grabs the attention”.
The Prime Minister’s announcements were met with applause from campaigners invited into No 10 to hear his speech.
