The UK government is getting serious about protecting children from social media. In April 2026, the Prime Minister met with executives from major platforms and warned them: either make real changes to keep children safe, or the government will pass a law banning anyone under 16 from using social media.

This is not a new idea. Earlier in the year, the government announced plans to ban phones in schools and asked the public what they think about children and social media. By March, that had grown into a bigger national conversation called Growing Up in the Online World. The government is now looking at age limits for social media, gaming apps, AI chatbots, and also at features that make apps addictive — like autoplay videos and algorithms designed to keep you scrolling.

What Can the Government Already Do?

There is already a law called the Online Safety Act that tells platforms they must enforce their own age limits and protect child users. But the government is no longer just asking platforms to comply. Instead, it is threatening to write a new law. In February, the Prime Minister said that if platforms do not change, a ban on under-16s would become reality. By May, the government confirmed it is seriously considering a ban like the one Australia passed.

What Is the Government Consulting On?

The consultation is not just about social media. It also covers time limits on app use, AI chatbots that children might form emotional attachments to, and controls on gaming platforms. The government sees the problem as wider than any single app — it is about apps and services designed to keep children hooked.

But creating these rules is harder than it sounds. How do you check someone's age without tracking everyone? Where is the line between a social media app and a messaging app or game that has social features? And if you ban social media, will young people just move to less regulated parts of the internet instead?

What Australia Did

In late 2024, Australia became the first major country to ban under-16s from social media. Instead of letting apps check age themselves, the law says platforms must stop children under 16 from signing up.

But Australia has discovered something important: writing the law is easier than enforcing it. The law says platforms must take "reasonable steps" to keep under-16s off, but what counts as "reasonable" is still unclear. The UK will face the same problem.

The Real Trade-off

The government believes social media is harming children's mental health, and the evidence suggests this is true. But others worry that checking everyone's age to enforce such a ban would require a system that tracks people's identities — and that creates dangers of its own.

What the government does next depends on the feedback from the consultation. It could write a new law, make the current law stronger, or leave it to Ofcom, the independent body that oversees platform rules. The fact that the Prime Minister met personally with platform bosses suggests the government is not willing to wait.