Under-16s to be banned from social media by next spring, Starmer says
A landmark ban – how did we get here?published at 18:28 BST
Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter
Image source, Bloomberg via Getty ImagesImage caption,
Keir Starmer announced the policy at a media briefing earlier today
The idea of an under-16s social media ban is not new.
It’s been floated – in various guises – by figures across the political spectrum, and gained traction in the UK after Australia became the world’s first country to introduce such legislation in December 2025.
Here’s some of the key developments that brought us to today’s announcement:
11 January: Kemi Badenoch says her Conservative Party would ban under-16s from accessing social media if they came to power, referencing the ban in Australia. This echoes previous calls by the Liberal Democrats in September 2025 to restrict access to social media for under-16s.
21 January: The House of Lords votes through an amendment to the government’s schools bill to include a ban on social media for under-16s.
March: MPs in the Commons reject the plans put forward in the House of Lords. The government instead launches a consultation to gauge support for, among other things, an under-16s social media ban on 2 March.
26 May: The government consultation ends.
15 June: Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces that under-16s will be banned from a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
What’s next?
July: The government says it will “set out more detail” on further social media measures, including overnight curfews and limits on “infinite scrolling” for under-18s. Children’s minister Josh MacAlister says detail on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) – which critics say could be used to circumvent the ban – will be laid out too.
By “the end of the year”: The government says the first set of regulations will be laid out, to give tech companies and parents time to prepare.
Next year: The government then says that “the changes should be implemented by spring 2027”.
