Under-16s Ban On Social Media Gathers Support

BRISTOL, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 15: In this photo illustration two teenagers aged 14-years-old look at their iPhone screens displaying various social media and messaging apps on March 3, 2026 in Bristol, England. In the UK, a ban on social media for under-16s has been backed by the House of Lords following the Australian law which aims to stop children under 16 from having social media accounts and social media platforms. The amount of time children spend on screens each day rocketed during the Covid pandemic by more than 50 per cent and researchers say that unmoderated screen time can have long-lasting effects on a child's mental and physical health. Recently TikTok announced that every account belonging to a user below age 18 have a 60-minute daily screen time limit automatically set. (Photo by Anna Barclay/Getty Images)