The government in the United Kingdom plans to ban social media platforms, including YouTube, from offering their services to those aged under 16. The regulations are expected to be implemented in the Spring of 2027, but questions remain.
The government in Britain plans to use a similar model to that introduced in Australia, which includes named platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X.
Indications from Australia show that circumvention is widespread, with around 70% of those aged under 16 maintaining active social media and YouTube profiles.
The British plans will be backed up by stronger requirements for age checks on platforms. The government says its restrictions will go further than any other country.
Those under 16 will no longer be allowed to use certain social media platforms, although messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal and not included. They will not be allowed to live stream themselves on any platform.
Those aged 16 and 17 will still be able to access social media, but live streaming, and stranger communication including in gaming, will have to be switched off by default for these ages. There are also plans to introduce overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for those aged under 18. There is also talk of additional restrictions on the use of virtual private networks. Details of these measures have yet to be provided.
The communications regulator Ofcom is charged with setting out how age verification will work. The government says that many adults will not need to do checks because they have already got an account that has been open more than 16 years, has a credit card connected to it, or is linked to an email address that is age-verified in other ways.
The government acknowledges that the internet can play a large role in the education of children but says that platforms have a clear opportunity to create spaces designed for children that prioritise safe, educational content.
YouTube Kids, an app designed to be safe for children, will not be included in the ban. However, that is mainly aimed at pre-school children under five, younger children, and those aged 9-12.
Terms of service for YouTube require that users must be at least 13 years old, but there is no effective enforcement of this.
YouTube currently offers supervised modes for those aged over 13, which grants access to most material but with parental activity insights and optional restricted mode features.
YouTube said in a statement: “Blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less-safe services.”
Research shows that more than half of all YouTube viewing over Wi-Fi at home in the United Kingdom is now on the television screen. YouTube is also the most popular first choice for viewing among those aged under 16, with the television set being the most-used screen for viewing YouTube.
It remains unclear how viewing YouTube on television will distinguish between users based on age.
It may be wishful thinking to assume that younger viewers will turn instead to the online video services of public service broadcasters.
In practice, parents and children will not face any sanctions under the proposed ban, although it may support parents wishing to impose restrictions on usage by their children. The real aim may be to set social norms.
Responsibility for compliance will rest with platforms to demonstrate that they take reasonable measures to enforce the regulations.
Imposing bans on social media is not without precedent. China has tiered age restrictions and limited screen time regulations. Then again, YouTube is entirely blocked in mainland China, as is TikTok, which is operated by Chinese company ByteDance and offers a separate version in China called Douyin.
The plans for a social media ban were announced by the prime minister, Kier Starmer.
“This is a line in the sand,” he said. “Tech giants had their chance and failed, but we’re stepping in to protect children, back parents and set a new normal for future generations.”
Whether he will be in post long enough to see them implemented is another matter. Meanwhile, the government has committed to lowering the voting age for national elections to 16. The argument for this is that those aged 16 and 17 already play an active role in society and deserve democratic representation.