Under-16s Ban On Social Media Backed By The House of Lords

MORZINE, FRANCE - APRIL 11: Three teenage boys look at their smartphone screens in village of St Jean d'Aulps on April 11, 2026 near Morzine, France. In the UK, a ban on social media for under-16s has been backed by the House of Lords following the Australian law which aims to stop children under 16 from having social media accounts and social media platforms. The amount of time children spend on screens each day rocketed during the Covid pandemic by more than 50 per cent and researchers say that unmoderated screen time can have long-lasting effects on a child's mental and physical health. Recently TikTok announced that every account belonging to a user below age 18 have a 60-minute daily screen time limit automatically set. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)