Published: June 15, 2026 at 10:19 am
A ban on social media is a crude tool. It has the right motive but will likely lead to the wrong outcome. The government’s motivation is commendable but it remains to be seen how this ban can be applied in a manner which translates today’s rhetoric into reality.
There are several obvious problems with a social media ban, which include a probable lack of enforcement. Law without enforcement is an illusion. In recent years, the UK has had to weather a continuous decrease in effective data protection enforcement.
The ICO’s decline as an effective regulator of data protection has created an environment in which global corporations operating in the UK can expect to operate in an environment with very little risk of a fine.
Ofcom, the UK’s regulator of the Online Safety Act, has only been able to progress with the most basic level of enforcement of a law which remains, despite being conceived before Covid, in its infancy.
The evidence of social media causing harm to large sections of the under-16 population is far more nuanced. Research suggests that 7 out of 10 children in Australia remain online despite the ban, because of the ease with which rules can be overcome and the lack of meaningful enforcement. Social media remains an online environment which has both good and bad. Children access the news and current affairs information via social media platforms.
Age verification technology remains nascent and has not penetrated the mainstream consumer technological environment.