UK to Ban Social Media for Under-16s Starting in 2027

And on a Sunday morning instead of church there will be community book burning parties, with compulsory attendance.

Why invent something that isn’t happening when there are actual book bans you could point to? Is it because they aren’t happening in the UK, but in the so-called ‘land of the free’?

Social media is a pox on society, we’d be better off if it was banned for everyone.

Finally. Hope this comes to Germany, too. We let these companies get away with too much for too long.

This seems like a lazy shortcut that's diagnosing the wrong problem. The real issue isn't the technology itself. It's doomscrolling culture and parents who simply aren't engaged with what their kids are doing online.

For families where they don't care what their kids are doing online, this law changes nothing. Kids will just make stealth accounts (as already witnessed in Australia) or even get one created by their parents, because being the only one at school without Instagram or TikTok is social "suicide".

And what about educational content? Lock under-16s out these platforms legally, and creators will stop making content aimed at them. Why would anyone invest time in quality math tutorials, study guides or even pre-school content, when their entire target audience is banned from watching? You're not protecting kids from bad content. You're cutting them off from the good stuff too.

This policy ends up punishing the kids who actually use social media to learn, while doing nothing to fix the underlying problems: checked-out parents and algorithms designed to maximise screen time at any cost.

This almost equals burning books cuz some books were "BAD" in the 30s.

These are the findings from the report done for the German government regarding this topic:

1. Bans Don't Teach Digital Competence
Experts argue that blanket media bans simply lock children out of the environments they need to navigate. The consensus is that digital safety and resilience can only be learned through active, guided use, not by putting up digital walls.

2. Pushing Kids into Darker Corners
Critics in Germany warn that a ban will not stop children from wanting to connect. It will simply force them to create stealth accounts, bypass restrictions, and enter less-regulated, unmoderated, or darker spaces on the internet where parental visibility and platform safety controls are entirely nonexistent.

3. The Problem is the Platform Design, Not the Age
German experts and organizations (like the Workers' Welfare Association - AWO) argue that age limits are too simplistic and miss the actual root of the problem. They advocate for holding tech companies legally accountable under the EU’s Digital Services Act to force a restructuring of the platforms themselves.
The focus should be on:

* Disabling manipulative, addictive algorithms.
* Ending infinite scrolling and autoplay features for minors.
* Stopping intrusive push notifications that drive screen addiction.

4. Loss of Education and Participation

A common argument raised by Germany's National Student Conference and media researchers is that a total ban strips young people of positive spaces. It removes access to peer support groups, vital educational content, and the ability to participate in broader societal and political debates.
In short, Germany's experts are leaning toward a "protection and education" model over a prohibition model

Edit: second half is translated from a German article, which summarized the key findings btw

With the algorithms the way they are now, my own social media is serving me up a lot of crazy nonsense, so much so that I'm now actively removing myself from it all its that bad. I dread to think what children are being served up. I hate to say it but I think this is a positive thing.

I don’t really like anything that requires age verification, but also Facebook and similar will do anything to obsessively hook people (not just kids) and melt their brains with algorithmic slop, so… not great either way.

We do ban kids from smoking for the sake of their health, though.

Why invent something that isn’t happening when there are actual book bans you could point to? Is it because they aren’t happening in the UK, but in the so-called ‘land of the free’?

Social media is a pox on society, we’d be better off if it was banned for everyone.

Hear, hear! We as humans have not evolved to deal with the negative effects of social media. It is unfortunate, because social media does have many positive effects. Unfortunately we do not stand a chance against manipulations by the algorithms and later true AI. Good actor, bad actors, there is no way to know who manipulates us to what end...

I believe this type of ban is a just first step against guarding us from these 'Golems' run by AI systems.

And yes, I'm all about personal freedom, but I think people are very naive when it comes to the dangers of AI and social media.