Hundreds of teenagers will take part in a trial of social media bans, time limits and curfews, as ministers consider potential measures to keep children safe online.
Australia became the first country to introduce a social media ban for children under 16 last December.
The ban restricts access to popular apps, including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X (formerly Twitter).
'I feel free': Australia's social media ban, one month on https://t.co/NDf81YqfDg
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) January 10, 2026
There has been a major debate since the Australian social media ban as to whether the same measure should be implemented in the UK.
The Government has even launched a consultation on the matter, which is set to conclude on May 26.
Hundreds of UK teenagers to trial social media ban
Now, more than 300 young people (aged between 13 and 17) in the UK are set to take part in a social media ban trial.
The six-week pilot, run by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), will test different restrictions on social media use to see the impact on their schoolwork, sleep, and family life.
The government is to trial social media bans and digital curfews in the homes of 300 teenagers. pic.twitter.com/RLc3h6P6bA
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 25, 2026
Participating young people and their parents will be split into four groups:
- One set of parents will be shown how to use parental controls to remove or prevent access to selected social media apps, replicating the effects of a social media ban.
- Another group will have a one-hour-a-day cap on the most popular social media apps, including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.
- The third will see parents block social media access for their child between 9pm and 7am, so they are still able to get online for a bit before and after school.
- The final group will allow the teenagers the same access to social media as they currently have for comparison.
Families taking part will be interviewed at the start and end of the trial to see how the ban or limits they piloted impacted them, and any difficulties they faced.
The evidence from the pilot will inform the Government’s decision on any policies aiming to improve children’s relationship with social media.
Technology secretary Liz Kendall said: “We are determined to give young people the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future.
“This is why we are listening to parents, children and experts with our consultation, as well as testing different options in the real world.
"These pilots will give us the evidence we need to take the next steps, informed by the experiences of families themselves."
A separate study led by University of Cambridge psychologist Professor Amy Orben and Bradford Institute for Health Research will also recruit about 4,000 pupils aged 12 to 15 from 10 Bradford schools to trial the impact of reducing social media.
The study will measure how cutting social media time impacts wellbeing, body image, school absence, bullying, time spent with friends and family, anxiety and sleep quality.
Do you think there should be a social media ban in the UK?
The Government consultation on a social media ban, which opened at the beginning of March, has already received nearly 30,000 responses from parents and children.
It invites views on what age a potential social media ban could begin, and whether social media platforms should be made to switch off addictive features like infinite scrolling and autoplay.
What do you think? Should there be a social media ban in the UK? Let us know in the poll below.
Meta and Google, who are responsible for the likes of Facebook and YouTube, have said the minimum age at which UK children can access socialmedia should not be raised.
Officials from TikTok and X said they remained “neutral” on the issue.
Celebrities have even weighed in on the debate, with Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis OBE supporting a ban on social media for children in the UK.
Mr Davis, who has confirmed he will reprise his role as Professor Filius Flitwick in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series, said: "I think it’s vastly important that we connect once again with nature, especially getting younger people back outside.
"I see teenagers, and the first thing they do is scroll on their phones. We need to have a social media ban. There’s nothing to think about, just do it. It is only going to benefit the teenagers.
“Social media is destructive, most of it is either advertising something you don’t need, telling you some new health fad that has no grounding in medical science or leading people on false journeys. There’s no regulation, which is frightening."
Peers to vote on social media ban
Peers are set to vote again on Wednesday (March 25), about whether under-16s should be banned from social media platforms deemed "harmful".
Lord Nash has proposed that an age limit (for the use of social media) be added to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The Conservative former minister’s proposal had been written into the draft new law after a vote in the upper chamber, which he won by a majority of 111.
But MPs voted to strip it out by a majority of 134, instead agreeing to give the Government a wider and more flexible power.
On Wednesday, peers will be asked whether they would like to insist on Lord Nash’s proposal or agree with MPs.
Twenty-one bereaved parents have written to members of the Lords, urging them to “vote to raise the age”.
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Under the Commons-backed amendment put forward by ministers, children could be banned or restricted from accessing selected social media services.
The Secretary of State would also gain new powers to bring in social media curfews for young people or limit the amount of time children can spend on social media.
Do you think there should be a social media ban in the UK? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.
