The United Kingdom has voted against a proposed ban on social media for under-16s, arguing in favor of a more pragmatic, evidence-based approach to strengthening online safety.

The government said it would explore alternative measures giving ministers the power to impose future restrictions including possible limits on addictive features or stronger age-verification requirements.

In a decisive vote in the House of Commons on Monday, parliamentarians voted 307 to 173 against a proposed change to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill (currently going through its final stages) which put forward Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s.

While many countries across Europe have introduced measures through regulation or government policy, few have tested the idea through a direct parliamentary vote, making the UK one of the first to do so.

The ban would have barred minors from using social media services such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, which supporters claim would help protect children from harmful content, online grooming, and screen addiction.

Instead the UK said it wants to explore alternative measures such as giving ministers the power to impose future restrictions including possible limits on addictive features or stronger age-verification requirements.

Education minister Olivia Bailey – who earlier urged MPs to vote against the ban – steered the focus onto a consultation that the government launched last week .

The consultation looks at whether social media platforms should come with a minimum age requirement and whether platforms should switch off addictive features such as autoplay.

Bailey said the alternative plan would give Science Secretary Liz Kendall powers to restrict or ban children of certain ages from accessing social media services and chatbots.

Kendall will also have the option to limit access to specific features that are harmful or addictive on social media, as well as the ability to restrict or limit children's Virtual Private Network (VPN) use and change the age of digital consent in the UK.

U16 social media: blanket ban vs exploring restrictions

A ban on social media was introduced for children in Australia at the end of last year – the first country to do so – with similar plans backed by peers in the House of Lords in January.

While the global momentum for a ban is building, only Malaysia and Indonesia have committed to implementing one.

France, Spain, Denmark and Slovenia are working on proposals to limit social media use for teens, while Greece, Germany and Italy are exploring restrictions or stronger age-verification rules.

Supporters of the ban in the UK include the actor Hugh Grant, who has argued that parents are in an "impossible position" regarding online harms, and that children are being exposed to dangerous content.

Critics meanwhile include children’s charity the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children which has warned of young people being driven to dark corners of the internet as a result.

Parents whose children lost their lives due to social media also appear to be split on whether an outright ban on U-16s would work or not.

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The father of Molly Russell, who took her own life at 14 after viewing harmful content online, has said that the government should focus on robust enforcement of existing laws.

However, campaigner Ellen Roome, who believes her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died in an online challenge gone wrong, was one of a group of 23 bereaved parents who had written to MPs calling for a ban.

"We don't need another consultation – we need to remove it from children," Roome told the BBC.

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