UK government to announce social media crackdown for children within weeks
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday vowed to act “very, very quickly” on new limits for children’s social media access, as the government’s public consultation closed with over 81,000 responses. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said new measures for under-16s would be brought in by the end of 2026. Campaigners remain split between backing an outright ban and opposing it as a “cliff edge” that could push children into unregulated spaces.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday said he would act “very, very quickly” on new limits for children’s social media access, as the government’s public consultation closed with over 81,000 respondents, including 42,410 parents and 13,890 young people. Starmer met families of young people affected by social media, including those whose children had died, and told them: “It is important that we act and we will act.”
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said new measures for under-16s will be brought in by the end of 2026. “No one’s going to stop me from doing what I think is right,” Kendall said. Options under consideration include an Australia-style under-16 social media ban or requiring platforms to prove their features are not damaging to children, industry sources said. Kanishka Narayan, the online safety minister, is in Australia to investigate its under-16 social media ban, in force for nearly six months.
Former health secretary Wes Streeting accused legislators of being “asleep at the wheel” and compared tech tactics to big tobacco. “The precautionary principle should apply here,” Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, adding that the UK is “behind the curve” on the issue.
Campaigners remain split. Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter Molly died in 2017, opposes a blanket ban, warning of a “cliff edge” that exposes teens to harmful content on unreformed platforms. The Molly Rose Foundation has called for daily screen time limits and age restrictions on features including infinite scrolling, autoplay, likes, comments, alerts, push notifications, and personalised recommendations. Esther Ghey, whose daughter Brianna was murdered in 2023, favours an under-16 ban, saying “as it stands, social media represents a serious risk to under-16s”. Ellen Roome, mother of Jools Sweeney (14), said: “Until it’s safe, I absolutely wholeheartedly say: take it away.”
Meta urged ministers not to break the algorithm and said age restrictions should be enforced through device operating systems, not app-by-app. The National Association of Head Teachers opposed an outright ban for under-16s, warning it could create a false sense of safety. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said doctors should routinely ask younger patients about their device and social media use.