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Open Government ban on social media to be for under 13s only

Created by Robyn Rachel Shephard
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Any government ban on social media that is introduced should be for under 13s only. We want people 13+ to be able to use social media. Not just 16+, as we believe 13 is reasonable as you are officially a teen and responsible for yourself.

We want this to happen as many teens in the UK will be affected by the ban and we believe the proposed age limit for the ban is too high and want to lower it to apply to under 13s only.

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  • Related activity

    Consultation: Growing up in the online world

    The Government has launched a public consultation entitled 'Growing up in the online world.'

    The consultation considers how children use digital technology, and covers proposals including age restrictions on social media.

    There are three ways to respond:

    • Full consultation for anyone (civil society, industry and members of the public)
    • Survey for parents and carers of young people aged 21 and under
    • Survey for children and young people (aged 10 to 21)

    Deadline: 11:59pm on 26 May 2026.

    Find out more

    The Government will publish its response to the consultation in summer 2026.

    More information

    Research briefing: Proposals to ban social media for children (House of Commons Library, 19 March 2026)

    Evidence session with experts: Social media age restrictions (Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, 11 March 2026)

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  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 19 August 2026.