Overview
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the policy on Monday, June 15, 2026, saying ministers will draft regulations before Christmas so a legal ban can come into force in spring 2027.
- The ban targets user‑to‑user social platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook and X while exempting messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal and curated services such as YouTube Kids.
- Enforcement will focus on platforms not children, with the regulator Ofcom asked to develop stronger age‑assurance checks and companies facing multimillion‑pound fines if they fail to prevent under‑16s from accessing services.
- Tech firms, researchers and campaigners warned the rules could push young people toward less‑regulated apps, raise privacy risks from new age checks and be undermined by VPNs, fake birthdays and shared accounts.
- The UK frames the plan as an ‘Australia Plus’ approach that adds limits on gaming, livestreaming and some AI features and follows a consultation of more than 116,000 responses in which most parents backed a 16‑year threshold.