The UK under-16 social media ban, explained
What's law, what's still being decided, and what to do before spring 2027 (updated as Ofcom publishes guidance). No panic required.
On this page
Where the ban stands
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Mar–May 2026
National consultation
"Growing up in the online world" draws over 116,000 responses; the government says 9 in 10 parents back a ban.
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15 Jun 2026
Ban announced
Under-16s to be blocked from social media, using powers in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.
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Jul–Oct 2026
· now
Ofcom studies age checks
A rapid study on what counts as effective age assurance for 16, reporting by the end of October.
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Late 2026
Regulations before Parliament
The first regulations are expected before Christmas.
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Spring 2027
Ban takes effect
Platforms must keep under-16s off. Penalties aren’t set yet; the Online Safety Act’s maximum is 10% of worldwide revenue.
What actually changes
From spring 2027, social media platforms must stop under-16s in the UK holding accounts. The duty sits with the platforms, not with parents; there's no penalty for families, and nothing you're required to do.
The penalties for platforms haven't been set. The law lets the regulations bring the ban under Ofcom's Online Safety Act enforcement, where the maximum fine is £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, and Ofcom can ask a court to block a service that keeps failing to comply. The Technology Secretary pointed to those powers when asked in the Commons on 15 June, but added: "We have not finalised the fines and consequences".
The government has named the platforms in scope: Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. Messaging apps (WhatsApp, Signal) are out, and a narrow list of exemptions will cover education services, shopping and music streaming. The model is Australia's ban plus extras: under-16s also blocked from livestreaming anywhere, restrictions on contact from strangers extending to gaming platforms, and an 18 minimum for AI "romantic companion" chatbots.
Two things are genuinely undecided. How platforms must verify ages is the subject of a rapid Ofcom study reporting by the end of October. Our age-checks explainer covers the contenders. And what happens to existing under-16 accounts hasn't been announced at all; the regulations due before Christmas will have to settle it.
Nothing changes for your family this year. The most useful preparation is a conversation about what happens to their account in 2027, and getting the built-in device controls set up properly in the meantime.
How other countries compare
Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia already keep under-16s off social media, and most of Europe is drafting rules at 15. Our country-by-country comparison maps where each one stands and how it differs from the UK, from parental consent to who checks a child’s age.
Latest ban news
All news →Grok has stopped showing porn to UK users, and the law did not make it
After talks with Ofcom, Grok blocks pornographic images and sexual companion chats for UK users, and X hides porn from accounts without an age check.
Turkey’s under-15 ban starts on 1 November, and the age check comes from the state
Every user proves their age with a token from a government portal, and 15 to 17-year-olds get private accounts with no livestreaming or endless feeds.
WhatsApp has added parental controls, and they stop at the messages
Parents can lock who sees a teen’s profile photo and who can add them to groups, behind a PIN. Messages and calls stay encrypted and private.
Ofcom is investigating whether Meta checked Instagram Instants for risks to children
Instants sends photos that vanish once seen and cannot be screenshotted. Ofcom wants to know if Meta did the required risk assessments before launching it in May.
Ofcom is investigating how Pornhub came to rely on Apple’s age checks
The case, opened on 22 September, asks whether Aylo tested a check built on Apple’s signals before switching it on. Ofcom will not rule on Apple’s own checks.
TikTok has agreed a parent-locked curfew, and a pass mark for its age checks
An Alabama court order blocks teens from midnight to 6am unless a parent agrees, and caps how often TikTok may mistake a 16-year-old for an adult.
The EU has picked 15, and built a supervised tier underneath it
The Commission’s KIDS Act, sent to Parliament and Council on 17 September, bars accounts under 13, supervises them at 13 and 14, and opens them at 15.
The Netherlands and Spain want one minimum age for social media across the EU
A joint paper sent to Brussels on 11 September asks for an EU-wide law, and for regulators to judge whether a platform is safe for children, not just who may hold an account.
California has banned the algorithm for under-16s, not the account
Newsom signed AB 1709 on 10 September. Children keep their profiles, but the recommended feed and autoplay have to come off.
Australia’s regulator has been given the document powers it said it needed
Fines behind the under-16 ban doubled to A$109.2 million, and eSafety can now demand documents from app stores and age-check firms.
Platforms have until 30 September to switch on deepfake nude detection
Ofcom has opened an enforcement programme with a date on it, and fines of up to 10% of global revenue behind it.
Australia would give every user over 16 an off switch for the algorithm
Draft duty-of-care laws treat the age ban as the first layer, and the feed choice is one thing the UK list does not have.
The government will legislate to make phones themselves block nude images for children
Apple and Google were given three months to volunteer. Ministers have read their answers and decided to write a law instead.
Meta’s US settlement gives parents the switch the UK gives teenagers
A midnight–6am block for under-18s that only a parent can lift: same platforms, same hours, opposite lock.
Ofcom tells platforms the ban does not put their current duties on hold
The rules protecting children now are unchanged by a ban that starts in 2027, and nine risky sites have just shut UK children out.
Australia’s regulator says it cannot prove a breach without the platforms’ own documents
A Senate committee backed doubling the maximum fine to A$109.2 million. Children still holding accounts is not, by itself, evidence of anything.
New Zealand’s under-16 bill is built like the UK’s, not France’s
Platform duties and messaging apps out of scope, the design the UK picked, now copied, with fines of up to 10% of global revenue.
France’s under-15 ban struck down two weeks before it was due to start
A blanket ban goes too far on freedom of expression, France’s Constitutional Council ruled, and the age checks had no privacy safeguards.
Nearly 85% of older teens say they will switch the overnight curfew off
A Censuswide poll of 1,000 teenagers puts a number on the government’s bet that defaults are sticky.
Three months into Australia’s ban, 81.5% of children were still using social media
The regulator surveyed the same 803 children before and after. Account ownership fell 10 points; use fell four.
Ofcom is investigating TikTok over the age checks the ban will rely on
The first formal test of whether a social media app can tell which of its users are children: the question the under-16 ban turns on.
Midnight to 6am: the voluntary social media curfew for older teens
Default overnight lockouts and autoplay switched off for 16- and 17-year-olds, but they can turn it all back on.
Six months into Australia’s ban, the lesson for UK parents is patience
4.7 million under-16 accounts removed, and new legislation because children are still getting through.
What the ban means for WhatsApp: probably nothing
Messaging apps are out of scope. YouTube isn’t. Here’s the line the government drew.
Under-16 social media ban announced: what was actually said
Regulations before Christmas, enforcement from spring 2027, and penalties not yet finalised.
Common questions
Will my child’s existing accounts be deleted?
Not yet decided. The June announcement didn’t say, and the regulations due before Christmas will settle it. In Australia, platforms deactivated under-16 accounts rather than deleting them, and the UK is explicitly following Australia’s model, but nothing is confirmed for the UK yet.
How will platforms know my child’s age?
Ofcom is running a rapid study on what counts as “highly effective” age assurance for 16, reporting by the end of October. The methods in play include facial age estimation, photo-ID matching, open banking, mobile-network checks and digital identity services. Our age-checks guide explains each one and its privacy trade-offs.
Does the ban cover YouTube or online games?
YouTube is in scope. The government named it alongside Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X. Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal are out. Whether YouTube Kids is exempt hasn’t been said: the government has promised only a narrow list of exemptions, naming education services, e-commerce and music streaming. Games aren’t banned, but restrictions on contact from strangers are planned to reach gaming platforms too.