Government consults on social media ban for under 16s
The government has launched a consultation to seek views on whether under 16s should be banned from accessing social media.
The proposal is inspired by the world's first social media ban for young people in Australia, in force since December 2025. Other proposed measures include inspecting schools’ mobile phone policies.
“Immediate action will include Ofsted checking school mobile phone policy on every inspection, with schools expected to be phone-free by default,” the government says.
The consultation will seek views from parents, young people and civil society. The government will respond to the consultation in the summer. Its action builds on the Online Safety Act 2023. Online safety issues are now included in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently in Parliament.
A joint statement from children’s and online safety organisations, experts and bereaved families on a social media ban for under-16s states that “blanket bans on social media would fail to deliver the improvement in children’s safety and wellbeing that they so urgently need. They are a blunt response that fails to address the successive shortcomings of tech companies and governments to act decisively and sooner.”
See:
- GOV.UK - Government to drive action to improve children’s relationship with mobile phones and social media
- Joint statement from children’s and online safety organisations, experts and bereaved families on a social media ban for under-16s
- PL&B International Report October 2025 - Australia seeks real-world privacy protections for children