Skip to main content

U.K. announces plan to ban social media for children under 16

▶ Watch Video: U.K. announces plan to ban social media for kids under 16

London — The United Kingdom is the latest country to announce plans to ban children under 16 from using social media apps.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that the U.K. would go even further than other nations, by also blocking children from accessing “harmful functions” such as livestreaming and the ability to communicate with strangers, and by extending the restrictions to gaming sites. He said the ban would protect children from content that is “designed to be addictive.” 

The proposed law would bar children under 16 from platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but the government said messaging services like WhatsApp would still be accessible. 

People under 18 would also be banned from having artificial intelligence “romantic companions,” but the details of that restriction and how it might be implemented remained unclear.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Announces Social Media Ban for UK Teens
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is seen during a news conference announcing plans to ban young teenagers from using social media, at 10 Downing Street in London, June 15, 2026.

Jaimi Joy/Bloomberg/Getty

The legislation would put the onus on tech companies to ensure children aren’t using their platforms, and they could face huge fines for failing to comply. Starmer said he hoped to have the regulations passed by lawmakers by late December so the ban can come into force by the spring of 2027.

Australia banned under-16s from social media in December 2025 — the first country to impose such a measure. But around 70% of parents polled by Australia’s internet regulator in March said their children remained on the platforms, having found ways to bypass age-gating systems.

Starmer said he wasn’t deterred by such challenges.

“We don’t say: ‘Oh, look, a teenager managed to get a drink somehow, so let’s not bother banning drinks from children.’ That would be utterly ridiculous!”

Big tech companies are likely to fight the effort, and the U.S. Embassy in London published a notice about the proposed restrictions 10 days ago, voicing concern that age-gating would not work and calling for children to be protected in other ways while freedom of speech is preserved.

The embassy called parents “the first and best line of defense” for children.

UK Prime Minister Announces Under-16s Social Media Ban
A 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy look at smartphones as the sun sets on June 1, 2026 in Cornwall, England.

Anna Barclay/Getty

Starmer and his government note, however, that polling shows British parents overwhelmingly support a ban for under 16s.

In March, a Los Angeles jury ruled that Meta and YouTube were liable for creating products that led to harmful and addictive behavior by young users. The landmark decision in the U.S. could set a legal precedent for similar allegations brought against social media companies. 

More than a dozen other countries, including France, Denmark and Malaysia, were already weighing up legislation to restrict children’s access to social media platforms before the U.K. announced its plans. 

Ireland is among those nations, but as CBS News learned recently, in one small town on the Emerald Isle, residents have already gone much further on their own — taking smartphones away from kids entirely.

Inside DC’s historic heart, an IndyCar race backed by Trump kicks into gear

By CNN
(CNN) — Spectators began pouring into the center of Washington, DC, on Saturday to catch the first day of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, a two-day street racing event whose revving engines will echo amid the nearby US Capitol and the city’s neoclassic national museums.The portion of 3rd street that will serve as the start and finish line is painted cobalt blue, with a thick black-and-white checkered flag band overshadowing the more mundane stripes of a nearby crosswalk. Large metal fencing stands erected around the site to protect those who’ve flocked to the IndyCar event to watch the sleekly designed cars fly past at speeds up to 180 miles per hour.With a host of preliminary races on the schedule, the festivities on Saturday are a buildup to the main race on Sunday, which, according to the White House, President Donald Trump plans to attend. The 1.66-mile track caps off a summer of celebrations commemorating the nation’s 250th birthday.The president fast tracked the race with a January executive order, bypassing local bureaucratic hurdles and making the event that is expected to draw nearly 300,000 people over two days a reality less than a year after its pitch by Penske Corporation president, Bud Denker.Fans began pouring into the sprawling racing area under a light drizzle about 8 a.m. as the racing teams were preparing for the first practice rounds. The weather did not dampen the spirits of hardcore racing fans who traveled from across the country for the Grand Prix in DC.Tom Lantz brought his family, including his 12-year-old son, Levi Steele, from Altoona, Pennsylvania, for the event. Lantz has attended several previous races but this was Levi’s first.“I’m just glad I’m here,” Levi said.The racetrack starts along 3rd Street, along the National Mall across from the Washington Monument, and is followed by turns onto Pennsylvania Avenue, the street where the White House is located. From there, it goes along 9th Street — passing the National Gallery of Art and National Archives. Pennsylvania Avenue was crucial to the track because its width lent itself to a pit lane where IndyCars will stop for tire changes, fuel and repairs.The course then turns onto Constitution Avenue and cuts across 7th Street, bisecting the National Mall before turning onto Independence Avenue, past the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It then turns on Maryland Avenue and back onto 3rd Street, spanning less than 1.7 miles and seven turns.Drivers on Sunday will race around the monuments for 147 laps, a symbolic number to celebrate the nation’s semi-quincentennial with a 250-mile race.Many Washington, DC, residents will feel the race’s impact even if they don’t attend it, as officials plan extensive traffic and parking restrictions throughout the city in conjunction with the event. The Federal Aviation Administration also announced it will pause flights out of Ronald Reagan National Airport from 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, though those times may change.A few of the city’s iconic Smithsonian Museums are in the race’s path, and visitors will need a Freedom 250 Grand Prix event ticket to access them. The National Gallery of Art, which is next to the race’s pit lane, said it conducted an “extensive vibration study” and applied a set of safety measures to protect guests and its art collections from being damaged by the race.The Freedom 250 won’t be the first time a race was held in Washington to commemorate America’s anniversary. In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson celebrated America’s 25th birthday with a horse race near the same land where IndyCar’s track is built, according to the White House Historical Association.Hosting this race was a bit more complicated than it might have been back then.For a nation’s capital that frequently engages in logistical gymnastics for events like the presidential inauguration, the Grand Prix presented unique challenges, including repairing streets, constructing large heavy fencing and securing permits to bring the race to downtown.Ahead of Saturday’s qualifying races, Denker’s team smoothed nearly 50 manhole covers over with silicone to ensure the high-speeding cars don’t blow the covers off their places with the suction they create.Security will be a particular sticking point ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix with the president and several members of his cabinet set to attend the race. Attendees will funnel through tall magnetometers, reminiscent of TSA-style screening before a flight.DC city officials had asked the federal government to designate the event as a National Special Security Event – a status reserved for the nation’s highest-profile and highest-risk gatherings, such as the State of the Union and state funerals. The Trump administration denied the request, opting instead to follow a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1 – the highest designation below a National Special Security Event.Another challenge for organizers was accommodating DC residents who live in the middle of the action. Denker, the Penske president, anticipated concerns about disruption and noise, meeting in May with residents who live or have office space near the course to pitch his plan and answer any questions.Most of the race’s extensive construction took place in the overnight hours but drew the ire of residents outraged at the large-scale disruption in downtown DC.The more-than-$35-million price tag, all paid for by IndyCar, bets on the race as a way to attract new fans and commemorate the nation’s birthday.“What’s primary for me, and it sounds corny, is to celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary in ways no one ever expected to see,” Denker said.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Read Next Story

Related Stories

Latest News
EE.UU. y sus aliados de Medio Oriente cambiaron los intercambios petrolero con Irán. Lo hicieron con una peligrosa maniobra
1 hour ago

EE.UU. y sus aliados de Medio Oriente cambiaron los intercambios petrolero con Irán. Lo hicieron con una peligrosa maniobra

Un vendedor de coches belga se convierte en príncipe tras una prueba de ADN que demuestra su parentesco con la realeza

Some Americans don’t believe all people are created equal. Their movement is going mainstream, this author says

Belgian car salesman becomes prince after DNA test proves royal parentage

Gangbangers, rap feuds and old tapes: What we learned in the first week of the Tupac murder trial