UK Looks To Implement Almost Total Ban On Social Media For Under 16s

But, of course, The Hill’s Mirando Nazzaro sat back and said “How can I make this about Orange Man Bad?”

Great Britain risks new battle with Trump over social media ban

Great Britain’s new social media ban for kids under 16 is threatening to escalate longtime tensions with the Trump administration over internet and social media policy.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed this week his nation is moving forward with the ban, less than a week after the White House urged Downing Street against it, citing concerns over free speech and burdensome hurdles for American tech companies.

Starmer’s move suggests Britain is committed to its digital regulatory agenda, even if it risks another fight with the Trump administration.

“The timing tells you most of what you need to know,” said Tobias Feakin, Australia’s former inaugural ambassador for cyber affairs and critical technology. He added the ban “is a deliberate signal that London will set its own rules on online safety” despite what the White House prefers.

Starmer fielded numerous questions on Monday over whether he’s prepared for retaliation from President Trump, who has threatened higher tariffs in past disputes over digital regulations.

Of course the other reporters went with Orange Man Bad

The move makes the United Kingdom the fifth nation to pursue an all-out ban on social media for young kids and teenagers. The under-16 ban will be introduced in Parliament later this year and apply to popular platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and social platform X.

Messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal will not be included. But the ban goes further than other countries’ provisions in that it limits features on gaming and livestreaming platforms to prevent strangers from contacting kids under 16.

Same government won’t protect the kids in the real world from all the Islamic and 3rd world imports, though.

While the Trump administration and first lady’s office say kids should be protected online, the White House breaks from allies in its push for light-touch regulation of technology, including social media platforms and artificial intelligence chatbots.

This argument came through last week’s statement from the U.S. Embassy in London, which said most content should be accessible by default, including political speech.

“We believe an open internet is essential to the preservation of free speech,” the embassy stated, adding regulations could “impose disproportionate compliance burdens on American companies.”

The UK certainly disagrees with that, but, hey, it’s so important that the legislation won’t be introduced in Parliament till near the end of the year, and, if it passes, won’t take effect till next Spring. Anyhow, consider the large amount of people arrested for Mean Tweets in the UK

And there it is: everyone must use a digital token to login, erasing any anonymity, opening up everything UK citizens do online for the government to monitor, in a nation that already arrests the hell out of citizens. Because it doesn’t straight up ban under 16s

No screenshots? Not allowed to even talk about them? Adults having their access revoked for disagreement? Yet, none on the Left are talking about this authoritarianism. Or concerned about the real world threats to children.

Starmer tried to stop this, and it ended up being funded privately. XFreeze has a good breakdown of the whole thing.