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The Government wants the public to help decide if children should be banned from social media
It's time to have your say.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd March 2026 
Should there be a minimum age to access social media? Should children be banned all together? The Government is asking the public to help decide.
In case you missed it earlier last month, the Government announced a social media crackdown in a bid to keep children safe amid rapid technology changes – with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying he was looking to take ‘immediate action’ to make the online world safer for young people.
The new measures announced included a crackdown on ‘vile’ illegal content created by AI, as well as ‘fast action’ to shut a legal loophole and force all AI chatbot providers to abide by illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law.
It was also hinted at that setting a minimum age limit for social media – which Australia famously became the first country to do so last year – could be on the cards, and also the restricting of other harmful features like infinite scrolling.
The Prime Minister insisted that ‘no platform gets a free pass’.
And now, it’s your turn – parents, guardians, and young people across the UK are being urged to shape the country’s next steps on children’s digital wellbeing, as the Government has today (2 March 2026) opened what is said to be the the world’s most ambitious consultation on social media.
The consultation will aim to gather insights from the public on how to keep children safe online across social media, AI chatbots, and gaming platforms.
“Millions of parents across the country worry about what social media is doing to their children’s sleep, concentration, and mental health,” the Government said in a announcing the launch of the consultation.
Many parents and campaign groups have called for an outright ban on social media for under-16s, however, others – including leading children’s charities like UNICEF – have warned that a blanket ban could drive children towards ‘less regulated’ corners of the internet, or leave teenagers unprepared for when they do come online.
This is why the Government says its consultation ‘looks beyond a ban’ and instead covers a full range of options – from curfews, to the impact of chatbots and gaming.
It also asks the questions about how any new rules would work in practice, in a bid to make sure they are effective.
On the social media side of things, three main questions are being posed in the consultaion:
- Should there be a minimum age for social media, and if so, what age would be right?
- Should platforms be required to switch off addictive features that keep children hooked late into the night – like infinite scrolling and autoplay?
- And whether mandatory overnight curfews would help children sleep better, and what age they should apply to?
Speaking on the launch of the consultation today, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Technology is fundamentally changing childhood. Used well, it can open up new opportunities for learning, creativity and connection, but only if we get the balance right.
“That is why we want to hear directly from parents, teachers and young people about how we strike that balance and give children the very best childhood in a digital age.”
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall added: “We know parents everywhere are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having.
“This is why we’re asking children and parents to take part in this landmark consultation on how young people can thrive in an age of rapid technological change.”
The consultation is now live, and you can have your say here.
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Featured Image – Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)
