The UK government is exploring an Australian-style ban on social media for children, as concerns grow over the impact of endless scrolling, online pressure, and mental health.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that many children are being drawn into “a world of endless scrolling, anxiety and comparison,” and stated that the government is prepared to take strong action if necessary.
The Labour government is reviewing global evidence to see whether a social media ban for children under a certain age would work and how it could be enforced. Ministers will visit Australia, which recently became the first country to ban social media for users under 16, to study how the system operates. The UK has not yet established an age limit, but is also considering stricter age checks and whether the current digital age of consent is too low.
Alongside this, the government is considering limiting features like infinite scrolling and other tools that encourage addictive use. Officials say the rapid growth of AI-generated content has made the problem worse, especially after reports of AI tools creating harmful and illegal images, including of minors. Britain has already announced plans to ban AI “nudification” tools and restrict children from creating or viewing nude images on devices.
The UK’s Online Safety Act, one of the toughest in the world, has already increased age checks online and reduced visits to adult sites. However, ministers say this is not enough. New screen-time guidance for parents of children aged 5 to 16 will be released soon, with separate advice for under-fives coming in April. Starmer said clearly: “No option is off the table” when it comes to protecting children online.
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