Strict age checks are set to be at the centre of a social media crackdown for children, to be unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer on Monday. The Prime Minister is expected to outline new rules aimed at preventing youngsters under 16 from being harmed by social media platforms.
Details of the Crackdown
As he battles to remain Prime Minister, Sir Keir is due to announce the new clampdown at a press conference in No10. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy explained on Sunday how the Government was seeking to learn from Australia's social media ban to make the restrictions in the UK more effective.
She told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg show: "The experience in Australia showed part of the reason why it has been difficult for them to enforce it is because there weren't very tough age verification measures. That's one of the things that we're looking at, and the Prime Minister will say more about it."
The Prime Minister has vowed to "call time on a system that's failing our kids" ahead of his expected announcement of an under-16s social media ban. He promised "bold action" in response to calls for change from parents, after the vast majority responding to the Government consultation backed a minimum age of 16 before children can access social media platforms.
Scope of the Ban
The UK is expected to follow Australia's example in raising the minimum age to 16 for sites including TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat and Reddit. However, the ban will go further than Australia's by including romantic or sexual AI chatbots, and children could also be blocked from chatting to strangers on gaming platforms, according to The Sunday Times.
The newspaper reported that daily social media use will be limited for under-18s in a bid to stop late-night scrolling.
Public Consultation Results
The public consultation on the issue, which closed on May 26, received about 116,000 responses, making it the second-largest in history. Over 83% of parents who responded said social media risks outweigh the benefits for children – with 91% backing a minimum age of 16 before platforms can offer their services to children. Almost two thirds (62%) of children who responded said restricting high-risk features would make them safer online. However, 72% also said they were worried about feeling left out if restrictions came in.
Sir Keir said: "How we keep kids safe online is one of the biggest debates of our time. As a dad, I know every parent wants their child to grow up safe and happy. This is a choice about whose side we're on: families across the country, or a status quo that isn't working. People rightly expect action, and this Government will always stand up for parents and put children first. That's why we will call time on a system that's failing our kids and take bold action to give every child the best possible start in life."
Political Reactions
The announcement comes after Sir Keir last week issued a three-month ultimatum to Apple and Google to make it technologically impossible for children to take, share or view nude images on their smartphones. The latest move risks prompting a backlash from Donald Trump's pro-tech US administration, which warned against a blanket ban for under-16s. In a response to the consultation, the US embassy in London said the country preferred "narrowly targeted requirements", that "most content should be accessible by default", and that age verification requirements could "impose disproportionate compliance burdens on American companies".
The Prime Minister's announcement comes at a difficult time for his premiership, which has been under pressure since Labour's drubbing in May's local and devolved elections. His authority was dealt a further blow last week by the resignations of the defence secretary and the armed forces minister over military funding, and he could face a leadership challenge if Andy Burnham succeeds in his bid to return to Westminster in this week's Makerfield by-election.
Tory shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: "It's shameful that it's taken the Prime Minister's job to be on the line for the Government to finally U-turn and ban social media for under 16s. Three times Labour voted against a ban, failing to stand up to Big Tech and protect children from the extreme content they are exposed to every day. As Conservatives we did not give up, I kept fighting for the brave bereaved parents, health professionals, and campaigners who continued to make the case for change. This victory belongs to them. The Conservatives in opposition can make a difference and this change will finally help parents and protect childhood."
Lord Nash, a Tory former education minister who led the campaign for an under-16s social media ban in the House of Lords, said: "The Government now has an opportunity to draw a line in the sand and end tech companies' uncontrolled experiment with children's safety. They must deliver in full on their pledge to raise the age limit to 16 for harmful platforms and features, with robust age verification to ensure it is properly enforced. Only by doing this can they begin to end the catastrophic harm being done to a generation. Let's give our children their childhood back."
Criticism and Concerns
However, some groups have argued that a ban may not be the appropriate instrument to tackle a wide spread of social media harms. The Molly Rose Foundation, set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing harmful content online, said a social media ban "will fail to tackle fundamental product safety risks issues and leaves parents with a false sense of safety".
Chief executive Andy Burrows said: "A majority of children will continue to use high-risk sites that will have no incentive to implement robust protections. This is not what online safety experts believe will work and is necessary. Keir Starmer has chosen to abdicate responsibility for tackling harmful algorithms and his legacy will be setting back children's safety by years."
The co-chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for digital creators, Labour's Feryal Clark, argued young people should not lose access to good-quality content that helps young people learn and find communities. She said: "High-quality, creator-led educational video content is a critical public resource and is not the same thing as social media. For example, many young people use it to revise for GCSEs, to learn a language or a musical instrument. Any legislative intervention must capably address this distinction. Failing to do so would be dangerously short-sighted and cut off opportunities from young people at exactly the moment they need these things most."
Leanda Barrington-Leach, executive director of the 5Rights Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that campaigns for online safety, said "a ban or curfew may change who comes through the front door, but it does not change what is waiting for children inside" and that firms must be driven "to make their products safe for kids".
