Britain's social media rules for under-18s will take effect in March 2027
The law targets features rather than apps: under-16s are kept off social sites, and 16- and 17-year-olds lose live streaming and stranger contact by default.
The UK's new rules on children and social media will come into force in March 2027, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced, Biometric Update reported. Nandy promised "proper, comprehensive legislation" that "incorporates the features that we believe are not safe", including endless scrolling and personalised algorithms designed to keep children hooked.
Features, not apps
The model restricts under-16s from social sites and limits what 16- and 17-year-olds can use. According to the government fact sheet, "16 and 17 year olds will still be able to access social media, but live streaming, and stranger communication including in gaming, will be switched off by default for these ages." Autoplay will be off by default, and notifications will be blocked for 16- and 17-year-olds between midnight and 6am.
The aim, the government says, is to avoid a "cliff-edge" at 16 where teenagers are suddenly exposed to the most addictive features online. Dedicated educational platforms will not be covered.
How ages will be known
The rules work in tiers, adapting what a user sees to an age established earlier and turned into a credential or signal. That can include the declared age range model already used by Apple and Google Play, which places users in an age band rather than sharing an exact birth date.
The approach reflects a shift in the field from blocking users to holding platforms accountable. Australia, whose under-16 social media law started the global wave, is now moving towards a digital duty of care, and civil rights groups have argued for the same model.
For regulators elsewhere, the British design is worth watching because it treats safety as a property of features that can be switched on and off, rather than a single gate at the front of an app.
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