British PM Keir Starmer is set to announce a ban on social platforms for UK children under 16. This follows calls for action from grieving parents, who have sued TikTok in the US over their children’s social media-related deaths.
A source at Downing Street reports the ban is unlikely to come this week, but has already run a pilot programme with several hundred children to test the impacts of curfews, time limits and curbing addictive design.
The ban follows an initial social media ban in Australia, which was followed by bans in Indonesia, Brazil and Malaysia. Portugal, Greece, France, Denmark, Canada and Spain are also moving forward with regulations.
Data from Australia has so far indicated that the bans have not been wholly effective at keeping youngsters off social platforms, as many of the major platform’s new age verification settings have easy work-arounds.
How to prepare the bands for the bans
Pivot back towards ‘owned’ channels. Websites, email newsletters, SMS lists, WhatsApp groups are all great opportunities for rerouting from socials. (Though please do your research on data collection and privacy compliance.)
Lean into physical media. Gen Z and Alpha are interested in the tangible more than ever, and are looking for something meaningful, personal and art-driven they can hold in two hands. Highly curated drips of vinyl, CDs and even cassettes will be an increasingly attractive offering.
For more tips on how to navigate the youth social media bans, head to our latest Sandbox Guide.
