Social media ban to begin in March 2027, Culture Secretary says

The social media ban for under-16s will come into force from March 2027.

That's according to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who is the government minister responsible for introducing the ban.

She specified the month while speaking at an event during the Labour Party conference - an annual get together for politicians, members and activists - which is taking place in Liverpool.

Newsround checked in with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport who confirmed that the ban would come into effect from "spring" next year.

Back in June, Keir Starmer - who at that time was prime minister - announced that under-16s would be banned from major social media platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.

Mr Starmer argued that "a full ban is the right choice," saying it was needed to protect the wellbeing of children.

This came following a consultation by the UK government, where children and adults were asked their opinions at what they think should happen.

Since then we've got a new prime minister Andy Burnham, but the government still plans for the ban to go ahead.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport told Newsround that more details about the ban will be released later in the year, the plan would be brought to Parliament before Christmas, and the new rules should be expected to come into force in spring 2027.

Since the plans for a ban for under-16s were announced, social media companies have argued against it.

YouTube argued that "blanket bans" could push children to "less safe services, while Meta - who own Facebook and Instagram - also argued a ban could drive children to "unregulated alternatives".

Snapchat said that "because the majority of time spent on Snapchat is in private messaging between friends and family, an outright ban that disconnects teens from those relationships doesn't make them safer."

Some politicians from other parties, charities and campaigners have supported the idea of the ban, but not all, and many have also said that it will be important to study the detail of the government's plan and how it'll actually work in practice.

Earlier this month the Education Committee - a group of politicians from different political parties - agreed with the idea of a ban, and called for the government to also ban restrict addictive design features such as infinite scrolling and algorithm-driven content.

In response the government has said it will introduce further measures, for example giving guidance for 5-18 year olds about screen use and on mobile phone for schools.

It says it also plans to strengthen how media literacy is taught in schools with changes to how it is taught in English and citizenship.