UK will ban social media platforms for children under 16 years of age.

Wall Street Journal (gift link):

The U.K. plans to ban children under the age of 16 from major social-media platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, ramping up pressure on big tech companies to shield younger users from harmful online content.

Announcing new legislation, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the ban would restrict livestreaming and communication with strangers for under 16s not just on social media, but across other online services such as gaming sites. […]

Starmer said the U.K. was also considering overnight curfews and curbs for scrolling content on feeds for under 18s. […]

Starmer said the U.K. was seeking to emulate the Australian model with a ban targeting platforms with algorithms such as TikTok, Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook, Snapchat, Alphabet’s YouTube and Elon Musk’s X where users can post, but not messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal.

“This is a line in the sand,” Starmer said. “Tech giants had their chance and failed, but we’re stepping in to protect children, back parents and set a new normal for future generations.”

Let the debates begin.