The social media ban for children under the age of 16 in the U.K. is official, with legislation set to finalized for a formal launch in 2027. Prime Minister and Labour Party boss Keir Starmer unveiled landmark legislation on Monday, which will make the likes of X, , YouTube, SnapChat and TikTok unavailable to under-16s in a move that follows the lead of Australia, where such a ban was launched late last year.

Not covered are messaging services, such as WhatsApp. The government said that the ban will formally launch by spring 2027 once legislation is finalized.

Promising  world-leading action,  the U.K. government said on Monday:  Children will be given back their childhoods,  with  less time for scrolling and more time for play. The plans will set a new normal for future generations, kickstarting a cultural shift and driving forward the government's fight to give every child the best start in life. 

Added the administration:  The government plans to use the same model for a social media ban as Australia. This would capture user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material, alongside algorithms. The ban will therefore include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. We do not intend for messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal to be included in the social media ban. 

The goal is to  capture user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material, alongside algorithms. 

Media regulator Ofcom, which is tasked with working out details, said:  So far, Ofcom has driven some of the strongest changes of any online safety regulation in the world, from widespread age checks to grooming protections for children. But the industry needs to go much further to make people safe. The Government has entrusted us to build on this progress with new measures to protect children, and we're ready to work closely with them as the detailed regulations take shape. 

Said Starmer:  Parents want to keep their kids safe and happy, but the online world has made that harder

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