UK Social Media Ban: Why Keir Starmer Banned Instagram, Facebook, Twitter For Children Under 16

UK SOCIAL MEDIA BAN: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his government will push for a full ban on social media for kids under 16. They’re planning to get the law passed by the end of the year, with everything kicking in by spring 2027. To stop underage users, platforms will have to use age verification checks. Still, not everything’s blocked; apps like YouTube Kids and Google Classroom get a pass, since they’re designed for younger users or schoolwork. The new rules also crack down on places where kids can chat with strangers, like on some gaming and livestreaming platforms.

BREAKING: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced a social media ban for under-16s.
pic.twitter.com/bWbujOOi6w

— World Source News (@Worldsource24) June 15, 2026

Why did Keir Starmer ban social media for kids under 16

So what’s on the chopping block? Pretty much all the big names: Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal aren’t covered by the ban. YouTube Kids and Google Classroom are also staying put.

Starmer didn’t sugarcoat his reasons. “Social media is making children unhappy, it’s making it easier for bullies to target them, and it’s harming their mental health,” he said. He insisted this move goes beyond what Australia has tried, and it’s not a decision he’s taking lightly. “I won’t pretend there’s no upside to social media for young people. But at the end of the day, the government has to make tough choices, and this is the right one.”

This will apply to ‘harmful functions’ like livestreaming and the ability to contact strangers. It will also be extended to gaming sites. Starmer claims that this will make it ‘world-leading’. The government is considering curfews for people between the ages of 16 and 18 and a ‘break in infinite scrolling’. It plans to set out more detail in July.

Keir Starmer: It will make our children safer

It will be enforced using Face ID age verification and digital IDs. The ministers will push it through via secondary legislation – says it will go into force in the Spring of next year. It will make our children safer, it will make our children happier, it will give our children more time, more security, more freedom to grow up, more opportunity.

Starmer admitted that, like in Australia, children will find ways to circumvent it using a VPN. He says the government cannot be expected to do anything about this, but the argument is absurd; teenagers will try and get round any law on drinking, but it doesn’t mean that the government will not ban harmful activity.

Starmer announced the ban in front of a crowd that included many campaigners for a ban, including parents who had lost children, to whom Starmer was thanking.

Countries where social media is banned for kids

Many nations have come up with regulations on limiting the use of social media among children, out of fears that children may end up harming their mental well-being through engaging in social media too much, as well as exposing themselves to inappropriate content.

Australia has passed a law that bans children aged below 16 from using social media platforms, and the platform must ensure that the user is above 16 years of age. There is also a similar regulation in France, which requires that anyone using a social media platform be below 15 years with parents’ permission. Some parts of the United States have come up with similar laws.

ALSO READ: Iran Arrests 131 Terrorists, Spies And Saboteurs During 39-Day US-Israeli Conflict