Starmer announces under-16 social media ban as parents cheer historic crackdown

All children under the age of 16 will be banned from using social media, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

The Prime Minister was applauded and cheered at a press conference today as he confirmed that the government will block all children under 16 from accessing social media.

He said the ban will be passed in Parliament before Christmas and come into force at the beginning of 2027.

The decision comes less than three weeks after the end of a consultation that drew more than 110,000 responses, including tens of thousands from parents across the country.

Sir Keir said at a press conference this morning: ‘It is clear to me that a full ban is the right choice.’

Drawing on his own experience as a dad-of-two, he continued: ‘All I want for my own children, hand on heart, is for them to be happy and safe.

‘I ask the question now – do we truly belive that social media creates a happy environment for our children?

‘Do we truly believe that it’s a place where they can feel safe? I don’t think I even need to answer those questions, do I?

‘Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy. it is making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them.’

Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan told Metro these measures would be more stringent than those used to enforce the ban in Australia.

He said: ‘In some cases, they just rely on facial recognition which has been imperfect in telling ages. In this country we will be tougher.’

Ofcom will now conduct a rapid study to find out what highly effective age assurance (HEAA) measures could be used to stop children bypassing the safeguards.

Narayan continued: ‘If you get new technologies to check ages better, we will include those.

‘But for now, it will mean that for example, if companies have data showing I’ve had an account for 17 years, they can tell I’m not going to be 16 years old and that will be enough.

‘But for others it might mean facial recognition in the way that we use on Apple Pay all the time.

‘It might in other cases mean ID being used if you’re not able to prove that you’re over or under 16 as well.’

The proposals also include outlawing the use of so-called AI romantic companion chatbots before the age of 18.

The government will also look at introducing overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18-year-olds.

The PM’s announcement was welcomed by bereaved parents who blame social media for the deaths of their children.

Lisa Kenevan, whose son Isaac was found dead in March 2022 after what she says was an online stunt gone wrong, said she felt like the voices of campaigners had ‘at last been heard’.

She told: ‘This has been such a long time coming. Sadly so many children have been lost along the way.

‘If these restrictions were in place when Isaac was here I am 99.9 per cent sure he would still be here.

‘It has been a very emotional day. We have been campaigning for such a long time. We have been part of something that will go down in history.’

Lisa acknowledged that there had been a ‘kick back’ from children and parents to news of the ban, but said that it ‘will eventually become the new norm.’

Despite fears that some children will get around a ban, the mum stressed: ‘Doing something is better than doing nothing at all.’

She added: ‘I really applaud Keir Starmer’s speech today. I think he spoke very eloquently.’

George Nicolaou, whose teenage son Christoforos took his own life in 2022 after weeks of torment on a dark web forum, said he was ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘so pleased’.

The dad told: ‘This is a fantastic step forward to help children stay away from these dangers. They have been exploited too much. So many lives have been lost because of this.

‘The ban will come into force in Spring 2027 – I know it is a year away but it will need that time to get it right.’

George said the ‘face recognition’ and ID cards were needed as part of age verification efforts to ensure children could not get around the ban.

He added: ‘It has been a nightmare four years since our son’s death. It has been very difficult. We have been fighting to save other children’s lives.

‘Every presentation I have done in schools, it was always to steer away children away from social media platforms.

‘We are so pleased with what the prime minister has done today.’

Can a ban on social media work?

The UK is following in the footsteps of Australia, who implemented a social media ban for children under 16 last year.

Digital safeguarding company Qoria, which works with one in three UK schools on online safety, said Australia’s ban had ‘failed to keep children safe’.

Their Managing Director Tim Levy said: ‘The reality is that children don’t simply disappear from the digital world – they adapt, finding workarounds such as sharing devices and using false ages.’

Save The Children UK’s senior adviser Jeffrey Demarco agreed: ‘We are concerned that a blanket ban may look protective on paper, but instead pushes children into less regulated spaces, where they are less likely to seek help when something goes wrong.’

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner noted in a report in March 2026 that the country had ‘not observed a notable change in the number of cyberbullying and image-based abuse complaints involving age-restricted accounts across the platforms in January and February 2026 when compared to the same period in 2025’.

One of the most effective ways that children could continue to use social media is through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

VPNs allow users to have a private, secure internet connection that could bypass age-checks by hiding your location and identity.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Sir Keir pledged stronger enforcement of age checks than in Australia.

He said that even if some children are able to get around the ban, that is ‘not a good enough reason’ not to implement a ban.

Ian Russell, whose teenage daughter Molly died by suicide after being exposed to pro-suicide content online – has also argued that a ban would not work.

Instead he argues that more should be done to force social media companies to reform their platforms so they are safer for young people.

This includes a ban on addictive algorithms and infinite scrolling.

The prime minister denied Ian’s claims that the decision making process had been ‘rushed’.

Sir Keir said the consultation had meant the government had ‘taken our time’ but insisted that a social media ban was important for giving parents ‘clarity’.