Will Starmer's social media ban for kids really happen?

Will Starmer's social media ban for kids really happen?

The News Agents · 2026-06-15
43:34

In what feels like one of the few genuinely radical decisions of his premiership, Keir Starmer has announced an almost complete ban on social media for the under 16s, starting next spring. Messaging apps will not be included, but YouTube (ie “television”) will.

Does the ban make sense? Will it actually happen? And is Starmer now thinking about legacy projects at this febrile moment of his leadership? We speak to the AI minister Kanishka Narayan.

Later Jess Asato MP found herself undressed by Grok - along with around 3 million others. She’s now suing Elon Musk to make sure X takes responsibility for sexualised image creation - including an estimated 23,000 of children.

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The News Agents

Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK’s top journalists – host an award-winning daily news podcast: The News Agents.

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