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'I can't stop using it' - under-16s have their say on possible social media ban

social media ban for under-16s for the third time. The UK government is currently undertaking a public consultation

Social media leaders called to Downing Street over children's safety

public consultation called by the government](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg3vjkx9d7o) over whether to ban social media for under-16s

‘Social media should be treated like tobacco’: Streeting calls for under-16s ban on certain platforms

Social media companies should be treated like the tobacco industry, [Wes Streeting](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/wes-streeting) has argued, as he called for a ban on under-16s accessing certain platforms. Speaking publicly about the prospect

Social media executives deny platforms are inherently addictive to children

consulting on whether the UK should follow in [Australia’s footsteps](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/social-media-ban) by making it illegal for under-16s to have access to many social media sites, among other potential restrictions. Rebecca Stimson

Social media as bad for young people as smoking, top doctors say

under-16s will be brought in by the end of the year as a consultation on the matter comes to an end. Banning social media for children, as has happened in Australia

Mother of boy who may have died in TikTok challenge urges No 10 to ban social media

under-16s, and accused the government of “kicking it down the road”. Ellen Roome, the mother of Jools Sweeney, 14, is among the families who will meet Keir Starmer on Tuesday as a consultation into

Wes Streeting says Starmer ‘behind the curve’ on under-16s social media ban – UK politics live

under-16s “must be the start, not the end” and he has compared the sector to the tobacco industry. In an interview this morning on the Today programme, Streeting went further, saying that when

Labour set to announce crackdown on social media for children within weeks

public consultation have been analysed with the help of an AI system called Consult and an expert panel led by an eminent paediatrician. The consultation closes on Tuesday. Age limits or changes to allegedly addictive

Starmer tells social media firms in No 10 meeting ‘things can’t go on like this’

under-16s. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, and Google owns YouTube. The government is [consulting on](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/19/uk-ministers-launch-consultation-into-whether-to-ban-social-media-for-under-16s) setting a firm social media age limit alongside potential limitations on app features such as infinite

Tuesday briefing: Is a social media ban in the UK enough to help protect young people?

consultation on young people’s social media use, which only closed a few weeks ago, included the use of AI chatbots for the first time. Ofcom’s long-running research study, Children’s Media Lives