The UK government has launched a major public consultation on banning social media for children under 16, following Australia’s first-ever ban on social media for minors implemented in December 2025. This initiative is part of a broader strategy aimed at safeguarding the wellbeing of young people in the online world.
The consultation, which opened on March 2, 2026, will run for three months until May 26, 2026, giving parents, teachers, experts and young people a chance to share their views before any final decision is made. More than 70,000 people in the UK have now had their say in the public consultation over the last three months.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has said new measures for under-16s will be brought in by the end of 2026, promising that the government won’t hang around once the consultation results are in. “We’ve got the powers now as a government. We can implement the results of it straight away. We are not going to take longer than the end of the year,” Kendall stated.
At the heart of the consultation is the question of banning social media for under-16s altogether. The government is seeking views on whether there should be a minimum age for social media, and if so, what age would be right. The consultation also will evaluate whether social media companies could implement stricter age verification processes, which might compel them to eliminate or restrict features that promote compulsive social media usage.
The UK’s most senior doctors have said there is an “overwhelming consensus” that time spent on screens and social media harms children. Responding to the government consultation about social media use for under-16s, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said doctors should routinely ask younger patients about their screen time and social media use.
Depending on the consultation results, ministers could still introduce a ban on under-16s using social media, age restrictions on certain platforms, limits on addictive features like autoplay, or restrictions to stop children bypassing controls with VPNs. However, MPs have voted against a ban on under-16s using social media, though the issue isn’t over.
The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology announced that the consultation will seek views from “parents, individuals, and civil society” to evaluate the potential effectiveness of a ban. The government plans to respond to the consultation this summer, with no delay, and explain next steps by the summer.
The initiative will also empower England’s educational watchdog, Ofsted, to evaluate mobile phone usage policies during school inspections, with officials expressing their expectation that schools will adopt a “phone-free by default” approach. Ofsted will provide clearer guidelines to schools aimed at reducing mobile phone usage, including advising staff against using their devices for personal matters in front of students.
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