Starmer says he hopes social media ban for under-16s will come into force next spring – UK politics live

Politics The Guardian By Andrew Sparrow 15 Jun 2026 10:10 1 min read

Prime minister announces ban, saying social media is making children unhappy and unsafe Social media to be banned in UK for under-16s, Starmer announces UK parents: how do you feel about the under-16s social media ban? Starmer acknowledges some teenagers will get round these restrictons. But that does not make the rules pointless, he says. Will it mean that no child ever looks at social media again? No. But look, this might shock you, but it doesn’t shock parents of teenagers; they get around

Prime minister announces ban, saying social media is making children unhappy and unsafe

Social media to be banned in UK for under-16s, Starmer announces

UK parents: how do you feel about the under-16s social media ban?

Starmer acknowledges some teenagers will get round these restrictons. But that does not make the rules pointless, he says.

Will it mean that no child ever looks at social media again? No.

But look, this might shock you, but it doesn’t shock parents of teenagers; they get around other laws too.

Some technology companies want us to think that social media is unchangeable, part of an almost natural order.

But we have to resist that kind of learned helplessness. We have agency, we can change it, and we will.

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