More than 100,000 UK teenagers could be shut out of social media under planned ban

More than 100,000 British teenagers risk being locked out of social media if they do not have a passport or driving licence when the under-16 ban takes effect, The Guardian reported. The ban, which would cover platforms including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, is due to come into force next spring.

The figures come from Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, which said about 150,000 16- and 17-year-olds do not own a passport or driving licence. Those documents are likely to be needed to access age-restricted platforms. More than nine in 10 Britons over 16 do have one or the other.

Ofcom has published an assessment of age-verification methods, the checks used to confirm a user's age. It named four it considers "highly effective": an official ID check against a live selfie, a bank confirming the account holder's age, an official digital ID service such as the Young Scot card, and selfie-based age estimation. Ofcom said a form of official ID would probably be needed as a "backstop" for other methods, such as facial age estimation, which it said could be inaccurate by several years. People without photo ID will likely need to obtain one to access age-restricted services, the regulator said.

Ofcom's chief executive, Melanie Dawes, said motivated children would seek to get around the restrictions. She described the ban as a "huge cultural shift" for the UK.

The government is expected to introduce regulations confirming the ban by the end of 2026. Ofcom is expected to open a consultation on age-verification methods before issuing official guidance. The ban is expected to cover the same services as Australia's, namely Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube.

Australia was the first country to ban social media for under-16s, starting on December 10, 2025. A study of 408 adolescents found that 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban took effect, Reuters reported. Ofcom's earlier research, published in 2022, found that a third of children aged 8 to 17 with a social media profile had an adult user age of 18 or over after signing up with a false date of birth.