The UK is on its way to banning social media to ensure children’s mental health protection and online safety. The UK government has launched formal discussions and public opinion polls on whether to impose a complete ban on social media or the use of social media for under-16s.
On Tuesday (January 20) local time, Technology Minister Liz Kendall announced in the British Parliament (House of Commons) that a rapid public opinion process will continue for the next three months to ensure children’s online safety. Under this, views will be taken from parents, youth society and civil society representatives.
A number of important steps are being considered under this scheme:
Phone ban in schools: Plans to make British schools ‘phone-free’ by default
Oversight powers: Education inspectorate ‘Ofsted’ will be given powers to check whether policies on phone use in schools are being followed properly.
Algorithm control: Tech companies may be forced to remove features or algorithms from their platforms that increase child addiction.
Esther Gher, the mother of Briana Gher, a teenager who recently committed suicide, has raised a strong demand for this ban. In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, she said social media was reducing children’s real-world social interactions. “In Brianna’s case, social media trapped her online despite having friends in the real world,” he said. I think it is important to get children out of this digital maze.’
Notably, 16-year-old transgender teenager Briana Gay was murdered on February 11, 2023. After long planning, two teenagers stabbed him to death.
The government’s initiative has been welcomed by the National Education Union (NEU) and several Labor MPs. But Conservative Party leader Kimi Badenoch called the process a ‘waste of time’. On the other hand, many experts and child rights organizations have questioned the effectiveness of the ban.
Amy Orben, a professor at the University of Cambridge, told the BBC that there is not yet strong evidence of the effectiveness of age-based social media bans. In a joint statement, 42 organisations, including the NSPCC, said such wholesale bans would create a kind of ‘pseudo-safety’ rather than safety for children, pushing children into the darkest and most unsafe corners of the internet.
Incidentally, in December 2025, Australia became the first country in the world to implement a law banning social media for children and adolescents. Meta has blocked or closed around 550,000 accounts in the first few days of the country’s new law banning social media for under-16s.
Following Australia’s lead, the UK and several other countries are now considering similar draconian legislation.
