Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday dropped a bombshell announcement — children under 16 in the UK will be banned from social media, full stop.
TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, X — all off-limits for minors, with legislation expected before Christmas and the ban kicking in next spring.
Starmer didn’t mince words, calling the platforms addictive by design and accusing them of exposing children to dangerous content and making them miserable.
WhatsApp escapes the axe for now, but gaming platforms and live streaming services are next in the crosshairs. The government is also mulling overnight curfews and forced scroll breaks for under-18s — details coming in July.
YouTube fired back, warning a blanket ban could push kids toward shadier corners of the internet. Starmer, unmoved, pressed on.Britain joins Australia, Canada, and Indonesia in a rapidly growing global crackdown on Big Tech’s grip on children
