Scotland warns UK social media ban could backfire on kids

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's announcement that under-16s across the UK will be banned from social media by spring 2027 has drawn an immediate challenge from Scotland's children's commissioner, who warned the policy could end up making children less safe rather than more.

Announcing the ban, Starmer said he was "clear that a full ban is the right choice", arguing social media is making children unhappy, enabling bullying and exposing young people to harmful content.

The children's commissioner of Scotland, Nicola Killean, stated that her office carried out a children's rights impact assessment during the government’s consultation process and found that "a ban would not currently be a proportionate, effective or enforceable way to ensure the protection of children’s rights."

She stated that the new policy could "may inadvertently push children to less regulated or riskier parts of the internet". She also mentioned some groups of children who were disproportionately affected, such as disabled children, rural children, children whose parents lived abroad, and children who used the internet for their identity.

Killean mentioned that while there were threats related to social media use, including the presence of bad content, cyberbullying, exploitation, and abuse due to overuse, social media was an essential platform for communication and self-expression for children. 

"There is a real risk now that children will be driven to darker places on the internet and stop talking to adults about what they might see," she said.

 Children's charity Children First chief executive Mary Glasgow said children would likely find workarounds and continue to be harmed "unless tech companies are forced to implement changes to ensure their products are safe from the start". 

She called on both the UK and Scottish governments to drive a public health response to digital harm rather than relying on a ban.

Scottish Minister for Children and Young People Siobhian Brown said the proposals should not be "rushed through without a clear plan for actually holding social media companies accountable" and called on the UK government to set out how Ofcom will use its full regulatory powers to enforce change.