UK Government consults on social media restrictions for children

The question

What does the UK Government's consultation into children's online safety mean for tech platforms?

The key takeaway

The UK Government is testing and consulting on potentially interventionist digital child safety measures. Platforms should be alert to the possibility that tighter rules on functionality, user access and parental tools for under-18s may be introduced in the coming months, and start preparing now.

The background

The Online Safety Act 2023 introduced robust regulations for service providers – targeting children's exposure to illegal and harmful content online and empowering Ofcom to impose fines of up to £18 million or 10% of their global turnover (whichever is greater) for non-compliance.

Now, the government is considering how social media impacts children more broadly. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has launched a three-month consultation, “Growing up in the online world”, which examines how children interact with social media and proposed interventions.

The development

The government is inviting input from a wide range of stakeholders, including industry, on the following:

1. How children use social media: This includes the beneficial aspects of learning, play and socialising as well as the consequences of social media on sleep, mental health and concentration.

2. Proposed interventions: Various restrictions are being proposed, including those which address:

• raising the minimum age of access to social media;
• raising the age of digital consent for data protection purposes;
• restricting access for younger users to services based on features and functionalities (including livestreaming and disappearing messages);
• restricting addictive features (particularly infinite scroll and autoplay); and
• Chatbots and AI.

The pilot testing will focus on social media bans, curfews and time restrictions. The DSIT is also running live pilot schemes with 300 UK families to test proposed restrictions and is supporting a scientific study funded by the Welcome Trust which will involve around 4,000 students between the ages of 12–15.

It is not yet clear which platforms would be impacted by the proposed measures. The Government cites the Australian model (which requires sites to have the significant purpose of end-user interactions to be caught by the enhanced obligations) and a risk-based approach as possibilities.

3. Compliance and enforcement: The consultation is considering how target platforms can:

• Improve age assurance measures; and
• Prevent circumvention of age limits.

It is also proposing a statutory obligation on schools to be phone-free environments.

5. Supporting families: In particular, how service providers can simplify and enhance parental control tools.

The consultation closed on 26 May 2026.

Why is this important?

The Government has indicated it will introduce restrictions on tech platforms once the consultation closes, it being a question of "how" it acts, "not if". To this end, it has introduced powers to enable it to impose measures without the need to pass legislation. Platforms could therefore face enhanced obligations in terms of product design, user verification and functionality for children within a matter of months, even if an outright ban on under-16s is not implemented.

The measures are also likely to diverge from the EU's existing Digital Services Act (Regulation 2022/2065) and children’s privacy requirements. Global platforms should therefore be alert to the differences between the regulations and to possible developments in the coming years.

Any practical tips?

Platforms should:

• begin scenario-planning around age restrictions, curfews, and disabling "addictive" features now;
• audit chatbot functionality, including personalisation and relationship mimicking of AI;
• consider whether to regionalise features or create age‑specific designs that can be implemented across jurisdictions;
• review data processing practices for under-18s, particularly the legal basis for processing, in light of the proposed increase to the age of digital consent;
• review current age assurance verification and parental tools, with a view to meeting potential requirements for simpler, more effective controls and clearer communication to parents; and
• engage with the consultation to help shape workable outcomes and share evidence on unintended consequences of regulation, such as displacement to unregulated services

Summer 2026