LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to unveil a social media ban targeting young teenagers on Monday, with the goal of shielding children from harmful online content and the dangers of excessive screen time.
The announcement would place the United Kingdom among a growing number of nations tightening online safety rules for minors. Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia have each introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions on children’s social media access. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand, and South Korea are among the countries exploring or developing similar policies.
“How we keep kids safe online is one of the biggest debates of our time,” Starmer said in a statement released Sunday. “This is a choice about whose side we’re on: families across the country, or a status quo that isn’t working.”
Starmer, who is facing calls from members of his own party to step down over concerns about his leadership, said the forthcoming announcement would represent “world-leading” action to protect children. He indicated the measures would be more restrictive than the Australian model, which bans social media for children under 16.
According to The Sunday Times, the United Kingdom would also move to restrict chatbots and certain features within gaming apps, and would establish a curfew designed to stop older teenagers from scrolling through social media late at night.
The under-16 ban would cover platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Threads, Twitch, Kick, and Reddit, the Times reported.
The decision follows a public comment period during which the government collected 116,000 responses from parents, children, and the technology industry. That figure ranks second only to the response generated by a public consultation on equal marriage back in 2012.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the overwhelming majority of those who responded favored an under-16 ban, including young people themselves. She noted, however, that a ban alone should be paired with additional measures.
“I don’t think banning social media on its own is the silver bullet solution, but I do think Australia has shown very clearly that it has a significant role to play,” Nandy told the BBC on Sunday.
The proposed ban could deepen tensions between the U.K. and the United States. The U.S. Embassy in London issued a statement warning that regulations should be narrowly tailored and must not infringe on free speech protections. The embassy also expressed concern that such rules would place added burdens on American technology companies.
Jon Crowcroft, a communications systems professor at the University of Cambridge, acknowledged that those backing social media bans have good intentions but argued the approach is likely misguided, warning that restrictions could cut children off from online resources they actually need.
“There is a real risk this will drive some users to worse sites and policing devices is close to impossible technically,” Crowcroft said. “Policing platforms is far easier, if only regulators would bother.”
