Labour have announced that social media services will be banned from offering their services to under–16s. Other services, including gaming and live streaming services, must prevent under-16s livestreaming themselves, and being put into communications with strangers. These functionalities will also be off by default for 16- and 17-year-olds. Chatbot services which primarily offer sexualised and age-inappropriate content will not be allowed to offer their services to under 18s. Access to general-purpose chatbot services will not be age-gated, but these services will be required to prevent under 18s from using features that enable sexually explicit interaction.
Labour has announced a ban on social media for all children under the age of 16, with less time for scrolling and more time for play.
The plans will set a new normal for future generations, kickstarting a cultural shift and driving forward the government’s fight to give every child the best start in life.
The ban will include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, however the Government does not intend for messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal to be included.
Connor Naismith has held two Online Safety Forums in Crewe and Nantwich in order to understand the threats young people face on social media. He has been a vocal supporter of these restrictions since February of this year. Mr Naismith made it clear that a public consultation was necessary to determine whether the measures had the support of parents.
The Government carried out a survey of more than 116,000 parents, children and experts across the country to illustrate public sentiment for a social media ban. The responses showed overwhelming backing for tougher action: 9 in 10 parents said they would support a social media ban for children under 16.
Connor Naismith MP said:
“Today’s announcement is about protecting childhoods. The internet can open doors to a wealth of knowledge and information, but vulnerable children must be able to navigate it safely.
“As parents, we can’t have oversight of every online space our child has access to. These new restrictions make it absolutely clear that responsibility lies with social media companies to limit children’s use to safe platforms.
“The government has rightly focused on apps with that pose the biggest risk: those with infinite scrolling, algorithms which push harmful content, communications with strangers, livestreaming and the posting of public material.”
“My office ran an Online Safety Forum in Crewe & Nantwich earlier this year where over 500 students participated in a survey designed by their peers. The results were staggering and - for me - confirmed the need for this ban.
“57% of respondents said they’d been approached by strangers online. 40% said they’d seen inappropriate content without searching for it. 37% said they or someone they know had been bullied, threatened or blackmailed online. In my discussions with young people about these findings, it was distressing to hear they were surprised the numbers weren’t even higher.
“The proliferation of these online harms cannot be overstated. Children are particularly vulnerable to malicious content, or accounts, which find their way to young people without them even searching for it. Tech companies have been reluctant to intervene, but these regulations mean that inaction is no longer an option.
“Throughout this debate I have been led by my experiences as a father and guided by conversations with students, parents and teachers in the constituency. As a parent, you’re constantly balancing trade-offs between freedoms and protections. Social media access so far has been firmly biased against the latter. This new ban will allow children to grow up in the real world and give them a healthy life online.”
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Notes to the Editor A statement from Connor Naismith calling for a social media ban for under-16s in February 2026 can be found here: https://www.connornaismith.org.uk/2026/01/29/why-im-supporting-a-ban-on-social-media-for-under-16s/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSc8yxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETJhUUhKa1dRMDVIRmtLTWt4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqIxQkPJSsV4G_VnWFdMReRNBmcdaP8GuDlwER2fKTCDNH3pZpsZLlgzoX3d_aem_QHFHVRKqYZVOVardX9uL6Q
Image Description Connor Naismith MP with student representatives at the first Crewe & Nantwich Online Safety Forum held at Reaseheath College in November 2025.
