UK launches consultation asking for views on under-16s social media ban

Source: BBC Technology

The UK government has launched a public consultation on whether to ban social media for under‑16s, inviting young people, parents and guardians to submit comments ahead of a decision on the proposal.

The debate over a minimum age for social media use has been sparked by Australia’s decision last year to ban children from platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the consultation would help establish how young people could “thrive in an age of rapid technological change”.

Consultation details

• Purpose: Gauge public opinion on an outright ban and on less dramatic interventions.
• Closing date: 26 May, with a government response expected “in the summer”.
• Accessibility: Separate versions of the consultation are available for young people and for parents/carers.
• Evidence gathering: Pilots will test proposed interventions to provide “real‑world evidence” of their effectiveness.

“The path to a good life is a great childhood, one full of love, learning and play. That applies just as much to the online world as it does to the real one,” said Kendall.

Proposed interventions

The government is seeking views on a range of measures, including:

• Requiring platforms to switch off addictive features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay.
• Introducing mandatory overnight curfews to help children sleep better.
• Allowing children to use AI chatbots without restriction.
• Strengthening age‑verification enforcement.

Public and political reactions

• Labour: In an open letter to the prime minister, Labour MPs argued that “successive governments” have done “too little to protect young people from… unregulated, addictive social media platforms”.
• Conservatives: Leader Kemi Badenoch has previously said her party would introduce an under‑16s ban if in power.
• Liberal Democrats: Education spokeswoman Munira Wilson warned that holding a consultation “risks kicking the can down the road yet again”.

Charity and expert responses

• Molly Rose Foundation: Welcomed the consultation as a “crucial opportunity to decisively strengthen online safety laws”.
• NSPCC and other charities: Warn that a full ban could have “unintended consequences” and call for stronger enforcement of existing child‑safety rules. They argue it could create a false sense of safety, pushing children toward other online threats.
• Academic perspective: Sonia Livingstone, professor of social psychology at the London School of Economics, said, “What everyone wants to see is better safety from Big Tech companies, and then children could express themselves and connect online as they want to.”

International context

• European Union: In February, the EU told TikTok it must change its “addictive design” or face heavy fines, a move the platform plans to challenge.