UK Government Urged to Treat Social Media Like Tobacco as Under-16 Social Media Ban Consultation Closes
The UK government is facing immense pressure to enforce an outright ban on social media for children under 16, as a major public consultation on online safety draws to a close. Over 70,000 submissions from charities, tech bodies, and the public have been logged, with the government promising to outline a decisive, "game changer" legislative response by the end of 2026.
Former health secretary Wes Streeting, who recently resigned from the cabinet, has come out strongly in support of the ban. Streeting targeted tech executives, claiming they are replicating old corporate strategies to capture a vulnerable demographic.
“Social media should be treated like tobacco – it’s extremely addictive, bad for our health, and big tech is borrowing the big tobacco playbook to avoid regulation. We’ve got to give our children their childhood back,” Streeting said. “A ban for under-16s must be the start, not the end. We have given the pen to tech moguls to write our future for us. It’s time to take the pen back.”
Streeting's comparison aligns closely with a damning report submitted by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. The medical body stated that social media "ranks alongside smoking" as a primary danger to youth welfare, noting the issue has become a "unifying force" for the medical profession in the same way seatbelts and smoking restrictions once were.
The academy's survey of 454 frontline doctors revealed that half treat at least one child every week whose physical injuries or psychiatric distress stem directly from internet platforms. The report cautioned that clinicians are witnessing "a wave of radicalised children" exposed to "hateful, addictive and grossly distressing content", including instances of minors joining online suicide pacts, harming family pets, or getting hurt by "replicating acts of extreme pornography".
While the government previously guaranteed Parliament that it would introduce age or functionality limits, campaigners remain split on whether a complete ban is the best path forward. Some campaigners are pointing to Australia's recent ban to argue that tech-savvy minors frequently bypass age blocks, while others fear a ban might simply drive teenagers onto the dark web.
An alternative approach favored by police leaders and trade groups like TechUK suggests "regulating by features, not by platform". Instead of bans on the apps themselves, this method would restrict specific addictive or predatory mechanics for under-16s, including:
- Infinite scrolling feeds
- Auto-play functions
- Personalised algorithmic feeds
- Direct private messaging
- Late-night scrolling
At the same time, a coalition of 25 prominent children's organizations, including the NSPCC and Girlguiding, argued that age limits alone avoid fixing the root issues. They are demanding a full ban on personalized services and targeted ads for under-13s, child-specific risk assessments for AI systems, and automated safety defaults for teens.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall emphasized that the government is exploring a broad scope of security measures across a large variety of social media apps, including platforms like Discord and Roblox. Kendall has confirmed that the final policy proposals will be made public this summer.
