UK to ban under-16s from major social media apps (opens in new tab)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that the UK will ban children under 16 from major social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat and Reddit, under online safety reforms announced at a Downing Street press conference. The government says the ban will follow Australia’s under-16 model but go further by restricting romantic or sexual AI chatbots and blocking children from chatting with strangers on gaming platforms. Starmer said the ban was “...