Under-16 social media ban raises fears over online displacement
Government plans to ban under-16s from mainstream social media platforms risk pushing young people toward less moderated online spaces where child exploitation and grooming are harder to detect and disrupt, experts have warned.
The concern follows the announcement by the government that platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, X and YouTube will be banned from offering services to children under 16 — the most far-reaching online child protection measures of any country, ministers claim. Messaging services WhatsApp and Signal are not included.
The measures go beyond a blanket social media ban. Livestreaming and stranger contact will be blocked by default for under-16s across a wider range of services including gaming platforms, and the government says it will set out further detail in July on overnight curfews and restrictions on infinite scrolling for under-18s. AI romantic companion chatbots — designed to simulate relationships with users — will face a minimum age of 18.
Scotland’s children’s commissioner Nicola Killean said she is “disappointed” by the announcement and warned that a ban “may inadvertently push children to less regulated or riskier parts of the internet”.
Dr Liam Berriman, Associate Professor in Childhood and Youth Studies, at the University of Sussex, said: “As someone who was involved in the government’s consultation process I’m afraid this social media ban is in danger of backfiring. I’m concerned the ban is going to make us assume we’ve fixed the problems young people are experiencing online, when actually it will just change them and make them less visible.”
“The latest research from Australia found six months into the ban 7 in 10 teenagers are still accessing social media content. Young people are likely to find a way round the new law, and when they do their profiles will be adult profiles, which means the algorithms will serve up even more inappropriate content.”
Technology companies will be responsible for enforcing age verification. Ofcom will oversee compliance and has been asked for an urgent review of its enforcement capabilities, with a published strategy to follow. Ofcom’s existing powers to act against child sexual abuse material and online fraud are named as continuing priorities alongside its new responsibilities.
The plans are expected to reach Parliament before Christmas, with protections anticipated to come into force in Spring 2027. The announcement followed a government consultation that drew more than 116,000 responses, with nine in ten parents backing a minimum age requirement.