Tories want kids off social media and phones out of schools

"The Tories have pledged to kick under-16s off social media, betting that banning teens from TikTok and Instagram will fix what they see as a growing crisis in kids' mental health and classroom behavior. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told the BBC that social media platforms are "designed to be addictive" and are profiting off children's "anxiety and distraction," arguing that a firm age limit is needed to protect mental health and education."

"We want to give parents some understanding that the government understands what they're going through. So we want to bring in age limits," Badenoch told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. "The internet is a Wild West, social media in particular. We don't think children should be on there, and we want the industry to set the direction of travel so that we can start working with them now in order to get the proper solutions in place."

"The policy would force social networks to stop under-16s from accessing services and follows Australia's world-first ban that came into effect on December 10, 2025, barring under-16s from holding accounts on major sites such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. The Conservatives say age verification systems that don't rely on government digital IDs could be used to implement the ban, and Badenoch also floated banning mobile phones in schools, saying that reducing screen time is central to improving classroom behavior."

The Conservative Party plans to bar under-16s from major social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to address rising child mental health problems and worsening classroom behaviour. Kemi Badenoch characterises platforms as "designed to be addictive" and accuses them of profiting from children's "anxiety and distraction," calling for a firm age limit. The proposal mirrors Australia's under-16 ban and envisions industry-led age verification methods that avoid government digital IDs. Badenoch also suggested banning mobile phones in schools to reduce screen time. Enforcement challenges include easy teen workarounds and limits on platform monitoring, while the teachers' union demands legislative action.

Read at Theregister