British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that children under the age of 16 will be banned from using social media from the spring of 2027. The ban will cover Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X platforms. Messaging services such as WhatsApp will not be included in these restrictions.
Starmer said that the government will not compromise on the safety and well-being of children. According to him, many social media platforms are designed with addictive mechanisms to keep users on the screen for a long time.
The first country to implement this step was Australia. The British government emphasizes that it has benefited from Australia's experience in developing new rules and that the measures adopted are among the most advanced models in the world.
However, experts note that the ban will be difficult to implement. A recent survey conducted in Australia showed that 70% of parents say that their children still use social networks despite the ban.
YouTube, Meta and Snapchat have warned that such a ban could lead teenagers to less safe platforms.
