MP welcomes under 16s social media ban
17/06/2026
“Labour will go further than any other country to protect our kids”
24,400 teenagers aged 13-15 years in the Cherwell district will be protected from the harms of social media over the next decade, according to figures released by Banbury’s MP.
Sean Woodcock has welcomed the government’s announcement of a social media ban for the under 16s. He says he has been contacted by many parents who feel they are fighting a losing battle against platforms designed to keep children scrolling.
The government plans to use the same model for its social media ban as is already in place in Australia. Platforms affected would include Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.
However, in the UK there will also be blocks on functions such as livestreaming and communication between children under-16 and strangers.
Mr Woodcock said: “I have received many emails from parents in Banbury and North Oxfordshire, worried about what social media is doing to their children’s sleep, concentration and mental health. Many feel they are fighting a losing battle against platforms designed to keep children scrolling. They are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having. They worry about AI, and about their children talking to chatbots as if they’re real people.
“Nine out of ten parents back a ban on harmful social media for under 16s, and Labour will go further than any other country to protect our kids. No dangerous user to user platforms, no stranger communication, no harmful algorithms, no romantic companion chatbots. That’s the change parents want to see and that is the change Labour is delivering.
“Protecting our children should be an absolute priority, and so I am glad that the Government have listened to parents and children and decided to act in this way.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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