NSPCC CEO Chris Sherwood has welcomed the UK government’s move to ban social media access for under-16s, but says robust age checks and enforcement must be in place, while addictive features should be tackled.
Social media ban is a win for children and parents, but the UK government must still push for safety measures
He said: “Today is a win for children and parents and all of us who have campaigned for better child protection online. Big Tech must not have access to our children where their dangerous platforms are causing appalling harm to young people. This is a watershed moment for child protection.
"We welcome this ambition from government, who have listened and demonstrated a clear commitment to go further than just a social media ban. Now they need to translate this into bold action, so it delivers meaningful change for millions of children.
“Australia has shown that bans alone don’t keep all children safe, some young people will always slip through the net. To deliver on their ambition, the government must ensure that there are robust age checks on platforms, an effective enforcement regime and they must tackle addictive features across all services that leave young people scrolling for hours on end. Without this, they will open up a huge protection gap for children in the UK.
“The government must continue to put pressure on Big Tech and not let them off the hook. We want to see government go further, be bolder and make sure there is real accountability across all online platforms, gaming services, and AI chatbots so the transformational change children and parents need and deserve becomes a reality.”
The UK government announced today (15 June) that most mainstream social media platforms will be blocked from offering accounts to people under the age of 16. New legislation will be brought to Parliament before Christmas this year, with the law expected to come in to force next spring.
Stats on social media safety
- We estimate that over 2.5 million children are accessing social media while under the age of 13 – the current minimum on most sites.
- Police recorded 7,263 sexual communication offences with a child in the last year. This has almost doubled since the offence came into force in 2017/18.
Sign up for updates
Sign up as an NSPCC campaigner today to receive updates on the progress of the ban.
Contact our Press Office
Contact our national and regional press offices for enquiries about our work or to request interviews.
