UK to ban TikTok, YouTube, other social media apps for children under 16, Starmer says

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is taking connected immoderate of the world's largest exertion companies, announcing Monday that Britain volition prohibition children nether 16 from utilizing large societal media platforms — including TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube — and enforce hefty penalties connected companies that neglect to support minors disconnected their services.

The restrictions, expected to instrumentality effect aboriginal adjacent year, would besides use to Instagram, Facebook and X. Messaging services specified arsenic WhatsApp and Signal, arsenic good arsenic YouTube Kids, would beryllium exempt.

Starmer said helium is prepared to face absorption from exertion companies and acknowledged immoderate teenagers volition effort to circumvent the rules, but argued the authorities has a work to act.

"Every genitor tin spot it with their ain eyes. Social media is making children unhappy," Starmer, who has 2 teenage children, told reporters. "I've heard archetypal manus from families crying retired for alteration and we volition bash close by them."

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A 14-year-old lad looks astatine a iPhone surface connected November 30, 2024 successful Bath, England. (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)

The determination places Britain astatine the forefront of a increasing planetary propulsion to bounds children's entree to societal media. Australia past twelvemonth became the archetypal state to prohibit children nether 16 from holding societal media accounts, portion Canada, Brazil and Indonesia person introduced oregon projected akin age-based restrictions. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are among others studying oregon processing akin approaches.

Under the British plan, platforms that neglect to instrumentality tenable steps to forestall kids under-16 from accessing their services could look multimillion-dollar fines. Starmer said enforcement efforts would beryllium directed astatine exertion companies alternatively than the children themselves.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a property league astatine Downing Street successful London to denote authorities enactment to support children online connected June 15, 2026. (Carlos Jasso/Pool Photo via AP)

The determination follows a nationalist consultation that drew 116,000 responses from parents, children and the tech manufacture — the second-highest effect full for a authorities consultation since 1 connected same-sex matrimony successful 2012.

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More than 90% of respondents supported an under-16 ban, according to the government.

A YouTube spokesperson warned Monday that a broad societal media regularisation could "push kids retired of specified curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less-safe services."

A teen holds a telephone displaying 9 societal media app icons, illustrating communal platforms that cod idiosyncratic data. (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)

The U.S. Embassy successful London warned that immoderate regulations should beryllium narrowly tailored and not infringe connected escaped code protections, portion besides expressing interest astir further burdens connected American exertion companies.

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Starmer said helium expected to sermon the contented with President Donald Trump and different satellite leaders astatine the G7 summit successful France that starts Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.