Should California Follow the UK’s new Social Media Ban?
Kingston D
In June 2026, the United Kingdom passed a landmark law that effectively bans social media platforms from offering services to children under 16. According to the BBC, the ban will roll out in early 2027. The ban will cover platforms from Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube—granted, Youtube Kids will be allowed. The government has stated that the purpose of these social media platforms are to enable social interaction through posted materials, which may be unsafe for minors. Of course, this new law will become one of the most extreme social media bans the world has seen, yet, it still raises a question worth asking here: should California do the same in some capacity?
There’s a real case for it. The Guardian notes that nine in ten parents in the U.K. support the ban, and others argue it protects kids from design features built to keep them scrolling, algorithms, as well as harmful content. Research from Ofcom found that 40% of children under 13 have social media profiles despite restrictions, and over 95% of those aged 13-15 do as well. With this large number of youth having their own social media profiles, the concern about constant exposure is understandable.
Yet, many experts are skeptical. Critics warn that the bans don’t remove harm, but rather relocate it by pushing kids toward less-regulated platforms or VPNs to get around the rules. Notably, Australia, which passed a similar ban, still saw over 80% of teenagers using banned platforms using these get-arounds. Privacy groups also worry that verifying everyone’s age requires linking real identities to online activity, creating surveillance risks for those across the country. And of course, among children, this ban is deeply unpopular.
So, where does California fit in? The state has often led the country on tech regulation, given it is the host of the largest tech companies on the planet, and is readily moving in a similar direction of the UK. In 2022, the state passed the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, aimed at forcing platforms to build safer defaults for young users. In 2024, the state passed the Protecting Out Kids from Social Media Addiction Act, targeting addictive feeds and limiting the amount of notifications platforms can send to minors.
Still, all of these approaches focus on design rather than an outright ban. A UK-style ban would face serious legal hurdles here, notably in the First Amendments protection to speech. California, also, cannot fully replicate the UK’s nationwide age-verification system without raising privacy or surveillance concerns that critics flag.
California should not copy the UK’s ban outright, but it should not ignore its lesson, either. The strongest past forward is not deciding who can log on; it is holding the platforms accountable for how they are built. We need safer algorithms and more transparency in these apps, because the reality is true: social media and algorithms take up more of our lives than we realize, and some of that, may not even be our fault.
Image credit: Chadd