What’s the right age for teenagers to use social media? It’s a difficult question with no perfect answer and it’s one parents, and governments, all over the world are wrestling with.
Now the UK will start the process of banning social media for children with Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer saying he hopes social media access for under 16s will be banned by spring 2027.
Why has social media been banned for under 16s?
Governments around the world are looking at the effects of social media and screentime on children with some already enacting bans or tighter rules.
The UK Government ran a public consultation because of growing concerns about the risks that come with life online - from design features that encourage young people to spend more time on screens, to content that can harm their health and wellbeing.
At the outset of the consultation Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: "We know parents everywhere are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having."
The Government announcement of the social media ban can be read in detail here.
The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, enacted a similar ban there earlier this year, saying just before it was brought in that it would: “keep children safer, take the pressure off parents, and give young people more time to just be kids.”
Sir Keir Starmer echoed this when he announced the UK ban saying "Social media is making children unhappy" and that "in this world, with this technology, it is hard as a parent to know what to do."
Some of the social media companies including Meta, YouTube and Snapchat, have responded saying that they support keeping children safe, but they're concerned a ban might lead children to seek unregulated platforms that are less safe.
Which social media services are banned?
While more details are likely to emerge as the bill passes through Parliament - the social media ban for under-16s will apply to TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, (but not YouTube Kids) Instagram, Facebook and X.
Will Roblox be banned?
The ban affects a "wider range of online services, including on gaming sites." Roblox won’t be banned, however some gaming sites will see limitations on access - including "blocks on harmful functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication with children for under-16s." So this may affect elements of interactivity on Roblox.
What else is or isn't included in the ban?
A full list of banned sites and apps has not yet been announced. So users of sites like Discord and Pinterest will wait to see if they are included.
Messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal aren't included.
The government is also planning on looking at overnight curfews as well as breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18-year-olds and aims to share more details in July 2026.
Additionally, AI ‘romantic companion’ chatbots will have to enforce a minimum age of 18, while similar functionalities will be restricted for under-18s on AI chatbots more widely.
When will social media ban start, and which apps will be affected?.
What can we learn from the Australian social media ban?
Australia introduced the world's first outright ban on social media for under 16s in December 2025, although the Australian government isn't describing the rules as a ban, instead calling them a “delay to having accounts”.
Results in Australia have been mixed with some reports suggesting that children are finding ways to bypass the ban, which saw nearly five million accounts being deactivated by the tech firms. It is suggested that a “substantial proportion” of under-16s retained their profiles, created new ones or found ways around the age-gating systems that are in place.
Addressing this the UK Government says they will "also learn the lessons from Australia’s experience by introducing more highly effective age assurance (HEAA) measures to support compliance, making it far harder for children to bypass safeguards."
Read more on how social media rules for under 16s differ around the world
How will the ban be enforced?
It is not yet clear what process will be used to enforce the ban, so far the government says that "highly effective age assurance" measures will check the ages of social media users.
This might involve companies to use technology to accurately estimate or verify someone's age - for instance facial scans or prompting users for ID.
They have asked regulator Ofcom to look into the best ways to check if a young person is over 16.
This may replicate how some existing platforms like gambling and pornography sites carry out these verification processes. Ofcom can fine these platforms for non-compliance.
Will parents or children be fined?
In the Australian model, children aren't punished for breaking the rules and there are no penalties for their parents or carers.
Instead, the onus is on social media companies to take “reasonable steps” to keep kids off their platforms. They will face fines of up to A$49.5m (US$32m, £25m) for serious or repeated breaches. Australia’s government says platforms cannot rely on parents vouching for their children or self-certification by users and should use multiple age assurance technologies.
This could include government IDs, face or voice recognition or age inference techniques, which involves analysing online behaviour and interactions to estimate a person’s age.
BBC News: Under-16s will be banned from social media from early 2027
What can parents do now to prepare for the social media ban?
Ernest Doku is a technology expert at Uswitch (London) he says that the announcement puts the pressure on the platforms to consider how to make this work, but that parents might not realise what a challenge it is because, “Nearly half don't know that VPNs and private browsers can bypass existing restrictions on their child's phone, and three in ten parents who already have controls in place say their child has found a way around them at least once.
He added: "In the meantime, free parental controls are already available through most mobile networks and broadband providers, and take minutes to set up. They won't solve everything, but they're a practical first step while the wider picture becomes clearer."
Advice for parents on keeping kids safe online
The NSPCC and Save the Children both say regular, open conversations make a big difference when it comes to helping kids to navigate the online world safely.
Save the Children suggests making it a dialogue, not a lecture and don’t assume you need to teach them everything. Give them space to share what they already know.
Share examples of what online risks might look like and make sure they know that they can come to you. Talk to them about your own relationship with technology, helping to normalise conversations about digital wellbeing.
Save the Children says: “The most effective boundaries are ones children help create. When children feel involved in decision-making, they're more likely to stick to agreements and come to you when they need help.”
Finally, do your homework - ask your child to show you how their favourite apps work.
This article was published in December 2025 and amended in June 2026 to reflect news that the government has announced a ban on social media for under 16s in the UK from Spring 2027.
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