FOSI Response to UK’s Proposed Social Media Ban

We commend the UK government for taking online safety seriously for years, from the ICO’s Children’s Code (AADC) to the Online Safety Act and Ofcom’s thorough research, public communication, and regulatory guidance.

Yet we are disappointed by the announced plans to move forward with an under 16 social media ban that would have additional restrictions up until age 18. As we said in our submitted comments to UK’s DSIT, “FOSI generally does not support sweeping bans of technologies, instead favoring more targeted and proportional restrictions.” Online risks and harms are real, and can be addressed through more targeted protections such as user safeguards, risk-based and proportional age assurance, and safety by design requirements including safer default settings. Instead of deliberately targeting risky features, bans focus on prohibiting access, not actually making online platforms and environments safer for users. 

Even key voices in the UK such as Ian Russell, who has been impacted by social media harms more deeply and personally than most people in the world and just shared his experience at our European Forum in Brussels last week, have questions and doubts about this path forward. 

Circumvention of such bans is difficult to address, as we’ve seen since Australia’s under 16 social media ban went into effect in December 2025. FOSI’s recent research in Australia shows that enforcement of their under law has been inconsistent so far. Since enforcement of the ban went into effect, 50% of surveyed children 10-15 years old kept access to at least one of their social media accounts. The eSafety Commissioner is aware of the large number of under 16s who still have access to their accounts, and has committed to continuing to work with tech companies to improve compliance. 

Ultimately, we want to protect kids on the internet, not from the internet. This requires collaboration between stakeholders including governments, companies, researchers, parents, and kids themselves.