00:00The government will ban access to social media for all children under the age of 16.
00:06The United Kingdom will introduce a ban to remove children under the age of 16 from social media.
00:13Borrowing from Australia's world first ban introduced in December 2025,
00:18the UK ban has been dubbed Australia Plus because it will seek to go one step further than the Aussie
00:24initiative.
00:25Australia proved that it is possible and so I think it gave us huge confidence to really go for it
00:30and to push our government over the line.
00:31I think that it does need to have restrictions on, speaking from personal experience, I've seen a lot of stuff
00:37that I shouldn't have.
00:38I think when it's going to be banned, lots more people will be doing sports and activities like art and
00:44stuff.
00:44The proposal in the UK is the result of a consultation with 16,000 people,
00:49with 90% of parents backing a minimum age of 16 to access social media.
00:56Australia's ban sought to block children under the age of 16 from TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
01:03With plans to have it fully introduced by June 2027,
01:07the UK ban will also include restrictions on gaming and live streaming platforms for children under the age of 16.
01:14We're taking world-leading action on gaming services and live streaming platforms where, at the moment, strangers can contact any
01:25child unchecked.
01:28The UK proposal is also looking at the potential to shut off infinite scrolling for under-18s and potentially introducing
01:36an overnight curfew.
01:38AI chatbots, including Meta-AI and ChatGPT, will also face heavy restrictions for underage users in the UK.
01:49Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted in support of the UK government, saying,
01:54Congratulations on taking this important step, Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
01:59Social media giants operate across borders.
02:03By standing together, we can do more to hold them accountable and keep children safe online.
02:09The UK government is yet to release the details of its plan,
02:13but it all hinges on whether the UK can introduce measures that will actually effectively enforce the age restriction.
02:20I don't think a policy needs to be perfect instantly to change the lives of a lot of people,
02:25and we're seeing it as a kind of reset that will help shift social norms
02:29so that parents can really tell their kids, sorry, you can't have it until you're 16.
02:34And, you know, like smoking or alcohol, kids will get around it,
02:37but it doesn't mean that you drop the law altogether.
02:39So we're OK with that.
02:40If it doesn't mean that 100% of kids are off it straight away, that's fine.
02:43We think that every year more and more kids will be off it,
02:46and then that will start to shift the norm around what time is a good time to be on social
02:50media.
02:51Research from the Molly Rose Foundation found that 61% of 12- to 15-year-olds in Australia
02:57have still been able to access their accounts despite the ban.
03:02Two-thirds of those underage users reported that their accounts were never deleted or deactivated
03:08despite the legislation.
03:10Others have reported being able to use their older siblings' accounts
03:14or being able to access their accounts via VPNs or altered online details.
03:20Some technology companies want us to think that social media is unchangeable,
03:25part of an almost natural order.
03:28But we have to resist that kind of learned helplessness.
03:32Will it mean that no child ever logs onto social media again?
03:37No.
03:37But look, this might shock you, but it doesn't shock parents of teenagers.
03:41They get around other laws too.
03:46You
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