Tories pledge to block social media for under 16s and stop tech giants profiting from children’s ‘anxiety’
For many young people, social media is part of everyday life, but that could be about to change.
If the Conservatives return to power, their leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to ban all platforms for under-16s.
The Tory leader told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that social media platforms, which she says were ‘designed to be addictive’, were profiting from children’s ‘anxiety’ and ‘distraction.’
This comes after the teachers’ union, NASUWT, said the government should bring in legislation that would make big tech platforms prevent children from accessing their platforms.
Mrs Badenoch said: ‘What we want to see is common sense – protection for children and freedom for adults.
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‘We want to give parents some understanding that the government understands what they’re going through. So we want to bring in age limits.
‘The internet is a wild west, social media in particular.
‘We don’t think children should be on there, and we want the industry to see the direction of travel so that we can start working with them now in order to get the proper solutions in place.’
Should social media be banned for u-16s?
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Yes
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No
As a mother of three, Mrs Badenoch says she understands that age limits would not completely stop children from accessing social media, but would remove a ‘critical mass’ from the platforms.
She continued: ‘Even from my own usage of social media, I can see how it’s designed to keep you on there again and again and again.
‘And we’re also seeing a huge increase in depression and anxiety, mental health issues. Some of this correlates quite strongly with social media use.
‘We’re having people come out of university, go straight on to benefits. We want to curb that.
‘So all of this is linked with our wider strategy, banning phones in schools, getting people into work.
‘All of these are bricks that are going to build up our policy wall.’
Where is social media banned or restricted?
Australia
In December, a social media ban for under-16s came into place.
The ban included TikTok, X, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and Threads.
Under the ban, those under 16 cannot set up new accounts, and existing profiles have been deactivated.
The Australian government decided on the ban to reduce the negative impact of social media on young people and to encourage them to spend more time away from screens.
China
China has heavy restrictions, especially in the domain of using the internet and well-known social media platforms.
Since the early 2000s, under the ‘Great Firewall’ policy, the government has blocked major international platforms, including Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
Even local alternatives like WeChat, Weibo and Youku, are tightly controlled.
Chinese users often rely on domestic platforms, which are still subject to government oversight and censorship.
North Korea
Almost all access to the global internet is banned, social media platforms are not available and citizens have almost no access to foreign news or external communication networks in North Korea.
A tightly controlled intranet called ‘Kwangmyong’, which contains only government-approved websites, is used for domestic communications.
On this intranet, information is heavily filtered and unauthorised use of external platforms can be severely punished.
Iran
International social media and messaging platforms are blocked or restricted in Iran.
Facebook, YouTube and X have long been restricted.
In 2022, after mass protests, Instagram, which was one of the last widely accessible platforms, was banned.
Messaging apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp face regular disruptions or monitoring.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan has one of the lowest internet penetration rates in the world, yet social media and internet access are heavily restricted.
Platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and X are often not accessible or are monitored with heavy filtering.
The country’s internet space is reportedly dominated by government-controlled providers.
Afghanistan
Since the Taliban regained power, Afghanistan has been seeing growing restrictions on internet freedom.
It has been reported that social media platforms are increasingly monitored and, in some provinces, authorities have shut down internet services altogether.
Turkey
Temporary bans or throttling of platforms during times of political unrest, protests or security crises are frequently imposed in Turkey.
Platforms such as WhatsApp, YouTube and X have been blocked for hours or days in some cases.
Myanmar
After the coup in early 2021, Myanmar’s military regime imposed repeated bans on social media and messaging platforms.
Russia
Although full bans are less frequent, there are ongoing restrictions on social media.
For example, voice or video calling features on foreign messaging apps like WhatsApp have been limited.
Source: Times of India
She also dismissed a suggestion from the presenter that she played ‘rather a lot of Candy Crush’, saying she never had, but admitted using Instagram to check messages and finding that ‘half an hour later you realise you’ve just been looking at memes and things like that.’
After the Tory leader’s interview, Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, wrote on X that he found himself agreeing with a lot of what Mrs Badenoch said about children and social media.
He wrote: ‘It seems to me parents would welcome a cross-party consensus around much bolder action.’
Former education minister Lord Nash said: ‘I strongly welcome Kemi Badenoch’s bold move to put children first.
‘Raising the age limit for social media now has backing from across the political spectrum, including Labour and Liberal Democrat parliamentarians, the NEU and the NASUWT.’
What does NASUWT say about a social media ban?
The teachers’ union calls on the government to ban access to social media platforms to under-16s to prevent further damage to mental health and improve concentration and learning in school.
They call for primary legislation banning access, legally enforceable age verification and compliance mechanisms to force big tech firms to prevent children accessing the platforms.
Calling for a ban, NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack said: ‘Teachers are dealing every day with the fallout of a social media landscape not originally designed and not suitable for children.
‘Social media companies have shown time and again that they will not act responsibly unless they are forced to do so.
‘If we are serious about safeguarding children, protecting their mental health and combating the behaviour crisis in our schools, then a statutory ban for under-16s must happen urgently.’
At the end of last year, the chief of schools watchdog, Ofsted, raised concerns that social media was ‘chipping away’ at children’s attention spans and promoting disrespectful behaviour.
In 2025, the NASUWT surveyed 5,800 teacher members and found that about four in five (81%) reported an increase in the number of pupils exhibiting violent and abusive behaviour.
Meanwhile, nearly three in five (59%) of respondents said they believe social media was one of the driving factors behind this behaviour.
In a separate poll, the teachers’ union found that 89% of 300 members said they would support a statutory social media ban for under-16s.
Evidence from the union’s teachers identifies that children’s sustained use of social media leads to reductions in attention spans, concentration and capacity for sustained learning.
They say this is partly due to over-exposure to highly stimulating and short-form digital content.
A government spokesperson said: ‘We support headteachers to take the necessary steps to prevent disruption in our schools – backed by our guidance, the vast majority already restrict the use of phones in the school day, so they do not disrupt learning.
‘Through the Online Safety Act, we have taken some of the boldest steps anywhere in the world to ensure children have age-appropriate experiences online, mandating that social media companies protect under-18s from harmful content.
‘We are striking the right balance: protecting children from harm while ensuring they can benefit safely from the digital world.’
Anna Edmundson, NSPCC head of policy and public affairs, said: ‘It is vital young people are protected from the harms that can take place on social media, but we believe a blanket ban for under-16s would be a blunt approach to a complex problem.
‘It would undermine young people’s rights to connect with friends and family, learn about the world and access support. It also risks driving them to unregulated spaces online, exposing them to even greater threats.
‘We must not punish young people for the failure of tech companies to create safe online experiences.
‘To fix this properly, services must be held accountable for the content being pushed out on their platforms and ensure that young people, and adults, can enjoy social media safely.’
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