UK urged to ban addictive social media features for children

The pressure to draw a hard line under children’s social media use is growing in Westminster, but the numbers behind the debate point to a more awkward reality: 95% of 13- to 15-year-olds use social media and 96% have their own profile. Against that backdrop, the Molly Rose Foundation is arguing that the real target should be the features that keep children hooked, not a headline ban that shifts the burden onto families and is hard to police.

The government opened a consultation on children’s social media use in January 2026, running it from 2 March to 26 May 2026. On 8 June, the House of Commons Library said Part 3 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 will require ministers to impose some form of age or functionality restrictions for children under 16, pushing the issue from political debate toward implementation. The foundation says that is exactly where policy should focus: on enforceable age limits, risk-based restrictions and blocking risky features and functionalities.

That stance cuts against the appeal of an outright ban, which can look decisive while doing little to change how platforms are designed. In January, 42 child protection charities, online safety organisations, experts and bereaved families signed a joint statement warning that blanket bans could create a false sense of safety, push children and threats to them into other online spaces, and leave 16-year-olds facing a dangerous cliff-edge when they suddenly gain access to high-risk platforms. The statement argued that under-13s should not be able to access personalised services such as social media, games and AI chatbots, while over-13s should face rigorously enforced risk-based limits and blocked features.

The NSPCC has taken a similar view, saying in February that tech companies are failing children so badly that a ban could be better than the status quo if ministers do nothing. But it also pressed for three stronger actions: keep under-13s off social media, stop platforms designing products to keep teens addicted, and block harmful content at source. The charity said Childline delivered more than 3,300 counselling sessions last year on online-related problems, including grooming, sexual extortion, exposure to dangerous and disturbing material, inappropriate AI chatbots and bullying.

The argument has been sharpened by Australia’s under-16 restrictions, which the Australian government presents as protection from design features that encourage longer screen time and expose children to harmful content. Yet the Molly Rose Foundation said in April that more than 60% of Australian children were still using social media despite the ban, a warning that symbolism without enforcement can leave the underlying harms intact. Founded after the death of Molly Russell, the group says ministers should strengthen the Online Safety Act 2023 and force platforms to use highly effective age assurance, rather than ask children and parents to carry the whole burden themselves.