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.
