Landmark legislation in Australia has banned under-16s from social media, renewing conversations about whether the UK’s own seminal legislation, the Online Safety Act, is fit for purpose and protecting children online.
Summary
- Australia is restricting under-16s from accessing social media and is the first country to implement a ban of this kind.
- In the UK, 62% of parents support a ban on social media for under-16s.
- This is driven by concerns about children’s exposure to online harm, and low confidence in measures to make the online world safer for children.
- The ban in Australia highlights how we must act now or else calls for a social media ban will only grow in the UK.
Introduction
Australia’s long anticipated social media ban has officially taken effect, marking a first for legislation of this kind. Under new laws, children under 16 are prohibited from creating social media accounts on certain platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
While Australia is the first to adopt such a policy, calls to ban social media for young people are far from isolated. In the UK, similar calls have surfaced in recent years. At Internet Matters, we have explored this issue extensively, capturing both parents’ and children’s perspectives on social media restrictions.
Our hope is that measures introduced under the Online Safety Act (2023) will make the online world safer for children, reducing the need for such drastic steps. Yet, our data tells a different story: concerns about online harm remain high, and public confidence in children’s online safety has not improved.
The ban in Australia reminds us that we need to act now to get this right.
Calls to ban social media around the world
Australia’s decision to restrict social media is not an isolated conversation. Around the world, concerns about the negative impacts of digital technology on children and young people’s wellbeing are fuelling similar calls for action. We have already seen places like Norway follow suit, with the country proposing to prohibit social media platforms from offering services to children under 15.
In the UK media headlines, cultural moments like Netflix’s Adolescence and calls from organised campaign groups like Smartphone Free Childhood have fuelled public discourse around the dangerous impact of social media on children and families. This has led to parliamentary debates and increasing pressure on Government to improve children’s online lives.
What’s driving these calls and the challenge against them
This concern is unsurprising given children continue to face alarming levels of harm online. According to Internet Matters Pulse, there has been no significant reduction in harm over the past two years with three-quarters (75%) of children reporting harmful experiences online.
Parents are also increasingly concerned about their child’s online lives, with 8 in 10 parents now concerned about their child being exposed to mis- and disinformation and three-quarters (75%) concerned about their child being contacted by strangers or encountering violent content online.
However, the online world is not just a source of risk for young people, but a vital space for learning, connection and support. Our latest Digital Wellbeing Index shows that half of young people (50%) say the internet helps them find communities offering friendship and support, while more than a quarter (27%) use it to learn about topics that would not be taught in school. Furthermore, our research on young people and the news finds that 68% of young people who consume the news get it from social media, making the online world central to how they stay informed and engaged.
While concerns about harm are driving calls for stricter measures, young people tell us that they use the online world to connect, develop and participate in society. In Australia, two teenagers are challenging the country’s proposed social media ban on these grounds, arguing that it infringes on their rights to freedom of information and association and disregards the fundamental role that the internet plays in their lives.
Support for a social media ban
With online harm remaining high and growing parental concern, public sentiment for stricter measures such as bans is gaining momentum in the UK.
Our survey finds that 62% of UK parents now believe that social media should be banned for under-16s, with nearly a third (29%) strongly agreeing. This marks a dramatic increase from August 2024, when only 44% supported such a ban.
Recent YouGov polling also shows that 74% of UK adults are supportive of a social media ban for under-16s. The growing consensus signals stronger public appetite for stricter restrictions of children’s social media use.
Despite the Online Safety Act, public confidence in children’s safety online is low
Shifts in parental attitudes towards social media restrictions is accompanied by low confidence in how safe the online world is for children.
The UK Online Safety Act (2023) aims to create a safer online world by placing duties on regulated platforms to protect users from harmful content online. In July 2025, measures such as highly effective age assurance to prevent under-18s from accessing pornography and other harmful content, including material related to suicide, self-harm and eating disorder content came into effect.
Our previous blog examined how the online world has evolved three months after these measures were implemented. For instance, Ofcom opened 21 investigations covering 69 sites and apps to assess how they are complying with the Act. In December 2025, Ofcom also issued a £1m fine to AVS Group Ltd, a provider of adult pornographic content, for failing to have robust age assurance in place.
Our latest data shows that despite the enforcement of the Act, public sentiment about online safety remains largely unchanged. Both parents and children are pessimistic about whether the internet is becoming safer.
Parents remain divided, with nearly half (45%) disagreeing that the online world is becoming safer for children and just under a third (31%) agreeing. The remaining 23% sit on the fence, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. These figures are almost identical to those six months ago, suggesting that recent measures have yet to change parental confidence.
Children share a similar outlook. Almost half (49%) say they do not believe the online world is getting safer for them, while only 14% agree.
Bans are not a silver bullet
Support for social media bans is growing, driven by a frustration with the online world and a desire for simple, sweeping solutions to “fix” online spaces for children. But this approach is not foolproof. Scholars and critics warn that blanket bans and restrictions fail to tackle the root causes of harm online and can even create new risks.
- Social media bans restrict children from access, rather than holding tech companies accountable for making their platforms safe-by-design and age-appropriate.
- When access is blocked, children may seek unregulated and riskier alternatives. For instance, Australia’s ban applies only to social media account creation yet, children will be still able to view social media content where an account is not required and where safeguards are not in place.
- Blanket bans may delay or derail essential conversations with children about their online safety. Children are growing up in a digital world and we must ensure they still have the skills and knowledge needed to navigate it safely and responsibly.
It’s important that we continue to hold tech companies accountable for building safer, age-appropriate platforms and teach media literacy from an early age.
What does this mean for the UK?
With public sentiment about children’s online lives low and support for a social media ban growing in the UK, we have only a small window of opportunity to get this right.
The measures introduced under the Online Safety Act were designed to protect children, but our data suggests the measures have not yet delivered the reassurance parents and children are looking for. If meaningful change is not delivered soon, pressure for more radical solutions like the Australia ban will only intensify.
At Internet Matters, we will continue to monitor these trends and work with Government, industry and the sector to ensure the online world becomes safer for children.