The UK government is set to announce a ban on under-16s accessing “high-risk” social media apps, with additional restrictions on safer platforms. The measures, to be outlined by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday, also include a ban on under-18s using romantic or sexual AI chatbots.
Under the plans, under-16s will be prohibited from using disappearing messages, chatting with adult strangers, and livestreaming on “safe” apps. The government will specify which platforms face the full ban at a later date. The consultation, which closed on 2 June, received over 116,000 responses, with nine out of 10 parents supporting an under-16 ban.
A Downing Street source said the prime minister had been clear that action needed to be a “gamechanger” and nothing was off the table. “It’s not going to be an incremental change, this is not going to be half measures,” the source said. “The prime minister has listened to parents and he understands that they feel they are trying to do the right thing, but they are on their own against huge tech giants.”
However, sources warned the government faces the threat of judicial review over its decision to ban some platforms and not others. One source described the post-consultation outcome as “very rushed” and said “the prospect of multiple judicial reviews seems high”. Mark Jones, a partner at Payne Hicks Beach, said the speed of the decision was not sufficient grounds to succeed with a challenge, noting the high legal threshold required.
The ban raises questions about age verification. Currently, the Online Safety Act requires platforms offering pornographic or self-harm content to verify users are over 18. In practice, companies like Meta already do more to verify ages.
