Britain to consult on banning social media for under-16s

The government has launched a consultation on banning social media for under-16s in the UK as part of a series of measures it says are aimed at “protecting the well-being of young people.”.

The world’s first social media ban for young people takes effect in Australia in December 2025, prompting other countries, including the UK, to consider following suit.

The package will also give Ofsted, England’s education inspection agency, the power to scrutinise policies on phone use when visiting schools, with ministers saying they hope schools will be “phone-free by default” as a result.

The world’s first social media ban for young people takes effect in Australia in December 2025, prompting other countries, including the UK, to consider following suit.

Some experts and children’s donors have warned against this idea – but it has strong support elsewhere.

More than 60 Labour MPs on Sunday wrote to the prime minister, adding that the mother of slain teen Briana Ghee also supported the ban and called on the government to take action.

“Some argue that vulnerable children need access to social media to find their community,” Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghee, wrote in a letter seen by the BBC.

“As the parent of an extremely vulnerable and trans child, I strongly disagree.

“In Brianna’s case, social media limited her ability to engage in real-world social interactions. She had real friends, but she chose to stay online instead.”

Former school standards minister Catherine McKinnell, one of the MPs who signed the open letter to Sir Keir Starmer, told BBC News that parents currently “feel unprepared to deal with the pace of change in social media.”

Speaking on Breakfast on BBC 5 Live, he said that although children should still “be able to stay connected in the online world”, he believed this did not mean “you will be bombarded with information sent to you by algorithms designed to make money by tech companies.”

“I can tell the House that we will bring forward a rapid three-month consultation on further measures to keep children safe online,” Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said in a statement to the Commons on Tuesday.

According to the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology, “counsellors will seek views from parents, young people, and civil society” to determine the effectiveness of the ban.

It will also look at whether stronger age checks can be implemented by social media firms, who could be forced to remove or limit features that “promote the compulsive use of social media.”

And Ofsted will give schools strict guidance on reducing phone use – including asking staff not to use their devices in front of pupils for personal reasons.

On Monday, Kendall said the laws in the Online Safety Act were “never meant to be the end point” and that she understood that “parents still have serious concerns.”

He expressed his commitment to ensuring that technology enhances children’s lives, rather than causing harm, and provides every child with the childhood they deserve.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has already said that her party will ban social media for children under 16 if it is in power.

He claimed that Labour had further delayed the consultation.

“The Prime Minister is trying to copy the announcement made by the Conservatives a week ago and still not getting it right,” he said.

Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Munira Wilson stated that “there is no time to waste in protecting our children from the social media giants” and warned that “this consultation is once again in danger.”

Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), called the move a “welcome change.”

“Every day, parents and teachers see how social media shapes children’s identities and attention spans before they even sit their GCSEs, sucking them into isolated, endless amounts of content,” he said.

The Association of School and College Leaders also welcomed the consultation on social media but said the government had been “slow” to respond to online risks to children.

Pepe Díasio, secretary general of the union, said that “there is clearly a widespread problem of children and young people spending too much time on screens and being exposed to inappropriate content”.

And Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, also welcomed plans to consult on a possible social media ban.

But he said the suggestion that Ofsted should “police” the phones in schools was “grossly unhelpful and misleading”.

“School leaders need government support, not the threat of heavy-handed inspections,” he said.

The House of Lords, poised to vote on the proposed ban on Wednesday, is exerting additional pressure on the government.

The amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill are supported by several prominent figures, such as former children’s TV presenter Baroness Benjamin and former education minister Lord Nash.

Another amendment exists. There have been calls to introduce film-style age ratings, which could limit children’s access to social media apps.

Professor Amy Orban, who leads the digital mental health program at the University of Cambridge’s MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, told the BBC that more “broad consensus” is needed to keep children safe online.

However, he said there was still “no strong evidence” that age-based social media restrictions were effective.

Dr. Holly Bear of the University of Oxford, whose work focusses on the development, evaluation, and implementation of mental health interventions for young people, agreed that evidence of the effects of social media bans is “still emerging.”

“A balanced approach could seek to reduce algorithm-driven exposure to harmful content, improve security measures, support digital literacy, and carefully evaluate any major policy interventions,” he said.

NSPCC, Childnet, and suicide prevention charity Molly Rose Foundation: One of the 42 individuals and bodies argued on Saturday that a ban would be “the wrong solution.”

“This will create a false sense of security that will drive children—but also their dangers—to other areas online,” the organisations wrote.

“Although well-intentioned, a blanket ban on social media will fail to deliver the improvements to children’s safety and well-being that they urgently need.”