United KingdomUnder-16 social media minimum age regulations (announced), Online Safety Act 2023 section 214A
An announced intention with no published text, dated , as of .
A social media and minors rule binding private bodies.
- Audit expectation
- none
Where it has got to
The text described here is Government announcement 'Social media to be banned for under-16s in landmark government move to give kids their childhood back' (DSIT / Secretary of State), , published .
The stage above is recorded at www.gov.uk.
No draft instrument has been laid before Parliament. The announcement said the regulations were expected to be brought to Parliament before Christmas 2026.
What it requires
- This is a proposed measure: the government announced the ban on and the regulations have not been made; what follows is what it would require if made in this form.
- Applies to user-to-user social media platforms that allow content posting and use algorithmic recommendation feeds (the announcement named Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X); messaging services are excluded, with narrow exemptions for education, e-commerce and music streaming services.
- Keep users under 16 off a covered platform.
- Timing as announced: regulations expected to be laid before Parliament by the end of 2026 and protections in force in spring 2027; Ofcom is to complete a study of highly effective age assurance for under-16s in autumn 2026.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Ofcom (expected, under the Online Safety Act 2023 framework)
Settledness
Section 214A is a power for the Secretary of State to make regulations; no regulations under it have been made.
- As of
- Open questions
- Which age will regulations under section 214A of the Online Safety Act 2023 set for a child to count as one of the "relevant children", and which "specified internet services" will they cover, given that the section leaves both to the regulations?
What it reaches
Age threshold
16
Covered services
User-to-user social media platforms that allow content posting and use algorithmic recommendation feeds; messaging services excluded, with narrow exemptions for education, e-commerce, and music streaming services.
What it makes you log
Logging duty
The regulations are announced and not made. Section 214A, the enabling power, lets the Secretary of State require providers to prevent or restrict children's access and to make provision about the steps providers must take and about monitoring and enforcement. It imposes no record or retention duty itself, and the government announcement describes none. The answer must be read again when the regulations are laid.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
On the government announced it will ban under-16s from social media platforms that allow content posting and use algorithmic recommendation feeds (naming Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X), with messaging services excluded and narrow exemptions for education, e-commerce, and music streaming.
The ban will be made by statutory instrument under section 214A of the Online Safety Act 2023 rather than a new bill, with regulations expected to be laid before Parliament by the end of 2026 and protections in force in spring 2027. The announcement followed the Growing Up in the Online World national consultation (2 March to , over 116,000 responses), whose government response was published on . Ofcom is to complete a rapid study on highly effective age assurance for under-16s in autumn 2026.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.
Back to the example · Lint your app
Page updated .