{"id":6653,"date":"2026-06-15T18:08:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T15:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/?p=6653"},"modified":"2026-06-15T18:08:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T15:08:40","slug":"britain-bans-social-media-for-kids-under-16-including-tiktok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/britain-bans-social-media-for-kids-under-16-including-tiktok\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain Bans Social Media for Kids Under 16, Including TikTok"},"content":{"rendered":"

The measure will block minors from accessing platforms including TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, according to New York Post<\/em>. Exceptions will be made for YouTube Kids and messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal.<\/p>\n

Keir Starmer<\/strong>, who has two teenage children himself, framed the policy as a battle against tech companies that profit from making children unhappy. Social media is making children unhappy<\/em>, he said during a Monday news conference, adding that he heard directly from families demanding action and would not compromise on child safety.<\/p>\n

The ban is expected to take effect early next year and will mirror Australia’s model, which made that country the first to prohibit under-16s from holding social media accounts. Tech companies failing to exclude underage users could face multimillion-dollar fines, with enforcement targeting platforms rather than children themselves.<\/p>\n

Britain Goes Beyond Australia’s Restrictions<\/h2>\n

Starmer signaled the UK would go further than Canberra’s approach. His government plans to prevent strangers from contacting minors on gaming and livestreaming platforms, and is weighing additional controls including overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for users under 18. Full details are due next month.<\/p>\n

The announcement follows a public consultation that drew 116,000 responses\u2014the second-largest response in British government history, trailing only the 2012 same-sex marriage consultation. More than 90 percent of respondents supported the under-16 ban, officials said.<\/p>\n

Esther Ghey<\/strong>, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in 2023 by two teenagers who had consumed harmful content online, said the ban could save many children’s lives but required accompanying enforcement measures.<\/p>\n

Mixed Reactions and Privacy Concerns<\/h2>\n

The NSPCC, a prominent children’s charity, welcomed the government’s ambition but urged authorities to ensure platforms implement robust age verification systems. Critics, including the Open Rights Group, raised alarms about how age verification companies would handle private user data.<\/p>\n

A YouTube spokesperson warned Monday that blanket restrictions could drive young users toward anonymous and less safe services, away from curated and supervised experiences.<\/p>\n

Starmer conceded challenges remain but said success would mean a massive decline in children using social media and a cultural shift in how young people grow up.<\/p>\n

U.S. Opposition and Free Speech Tensions<\/h2>\n

The ban threatens to escalate tensions between London and Washington. The U.S. Embassy in London issued a statement cautioning that regulations should be narrowly tailored to avoid violating free speech protections, as New York Post<\/em> reports. American officials also expressed concern that the rules would disproportionately burden U.S. technology companies.<\/p>\n

Starmer said he expected to discuss the matter with President Donald Trump and other world leaders at the Group of Seven summit beginning Monday in France. He downplayed potential friction, arguing that protecting children is a universally accepted responsibility among world leaders.<\/p>\n

Global Movement Gains Momentum<\/h2>\n

Britain joins Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia in introducing age-based social media restrictions. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are all exploring or developing similar frameworks as governments worldwide confront Big Tech’s influence over minors.<\/p>\n

Jon Crowcroft<\/strong>, a communications systems professor at the University of Cambridge, warned that well-meaning supporters of the ban may be misguided. He cautioned that restrictions could push users toward worse sites and that policing devices effectively is nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

Starmer, elected less than two years ago, faces growing pressure from members of his own party over perceived weak leadership. Some analysts suggest the social media ban represents an attempt to establish a consequential legacy amid potential leadership challenges in coming weeks.<\/p>\n

With information from New York Post<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a sweeping ban on social media for children under 16, with exceptions for YouTube Kids and messaging apps, set to take effect early next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":6652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[6836,6819,6835,17,6834,6806,562,48],"nfg_topic":[134],"class_list":["post-6653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-big-tech-regulation","tag-children-under-16","tag-instagram","tag-keir-starmer","tag-snapchat","tag-social-media-ban","tag-tiktok","tag-united-kingdom","nfg_topic-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6687,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6653\/revisions\/6687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6653"},{"taxonomy":"nfg_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nfg_topic?post=6653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}