Starmer says Britain will ban under-16s from using a range of social media apps
The plan also restricts stranger contact on gaming and livestreaming services, and 90% of parents backed a minimum age of 16, officials said.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a blanket ban on social media for children under the age of 16, introducing what he called an "Australia plus" model of sweeping digital restrictions.
- The hardline policy targets major global platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, and Threads, which will be entirely legally prohibited from offering services to young teenagers.
- The restrictions extend far beyond standard social media apps, implementing a total ban on under-18s accessing sexual or romantic AI chatbots, and stripping stranger-chat features from multiplayer online gaming platforms.
- New curfews will target older teenagers up to the age of 18, integrating technical feature blocks designed to entirely prevent late-night infinite scrolling and restrict late-night platform access.
- The landmark regulations are expected to hit Parliament before Christmas, utilizing immediate fast-track powers under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act to bring the first wave of enforcement rules into active effect by Spring 2027.
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380 Articles
Britain unveils sweeping social media ban for under-16s
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he would ban social media sites for under-16s and impose restrictions on gaming and live-streaming platforms, in a fightback against big tech that goes further than any other country. The sweeping changes will "give kids their childhood back", Starmer told reporters, outlining measures against Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and other platforms, as well as gaming sites that allow strangers to contac…
UK’s Social Media Ban: The Monumental Pretext For Total Digital Surveillance
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement of a social media ban for under-16s represents one of the most sweeping advances of the surveillance state in modern British history. Framed as “giving children their childhoods back,” the policy demands that big tech implement mandatory age verification across major platforms. In reality it forces every adult in...
When questioned by the BBC, the young girl was obviously not pleased with the announcements of Keir Starmer, who will soon ban access to social networks for minors under 16 years of age.
==History==The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, criticized the British government's decision to ban children under the age of 16 from access to social media, which is scheduled to be enacted before the end of 2026, and will enter into force by the spring of next year.
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