The UK government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday announced a blanket ban on social media platforms and “romantic/sexual” AI chatbots for all under-16s in Britain.
The larger social media ban policy of the UK includes prohibiting access to dedicated romantic/sexual AI chatbots or any LLM models that have features allowing sexual, erotic or highly intimate roleplay.
General purpose AI tools, educational chatbots, coding assistants, or non-companion AI models have been exempted from ban for minors.
According to PM Keir Starmer, the decision has been taken to protect children online and the ban will also be enforced on live streaming and stranger communication for under-16s.
We are banning social media access for under 16s.
These days kids must find their feet in a world where technology intrudes into every area of their life.
I just can’t let that go on anymore. So we’re giving children their childhoods back. pic.twitter.com/jn7iQrcwk8
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 15, 2026
“These days, kids have to find their feet in a world that changes so quickly. Where technology intrudes into every area of their lives, and we know that harms them. The response from parents has been absolutely clear,” said Starmer in a video statement released on X on Monday.
The ban announced by the UK government has closely followed the footsteps of the Australian government that enforced a similar social media ban on minors. Platforms like Snap Chat, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X and Facebook are part of the ban while pure messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal are exempted.
“It’s a big step for our country and it’s not an easy thing to do. We haven’t rushed into it. It’s fair to say that this decision has been resisted and it will face resistance from some of the most powerful companies in the world. But we will take them all and we will win,” said Starmer.
