COUNTRIES ARE RACING TO BAN SOCIAL MEDIA FOR KIDS 🌍🚨

This is no longer one country’s experiment.
In a few months, major governments have lined up the same idea: keep young teens off TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, X and similar feeds until they are older.
• Australia: under-16 minimum age on major social apps since 10 December 2025. Early government messaging said about 4.7 million under-16 accounts were closed, removed, or restricted in the first days. 🇦🇺
• France: first EU country to pass a blanket under-15 ban (vote around 21 July 2026). Target for new accounts: 1 September 2026. Existing under-15 accounts are set for a later wave from January 2027. France’s Constitutional Council can still review the law, so the calendar is not fully locked. 🇫🇷
Government announced, law path open
• United Kingdom: Prime Minister Keir Starmer (on 15 June 2026) said the UK will ban social media for under-16s. Official UK plan aims for rules in Parliament before Christmas 2026 and protections in force around Spring 2027.
Moving or drafting (not all fully live yet)
• Greece: under-15 path toward January 2027
• Spain: under-16 style plans
• Denmark: multiparty deal aimed at under-15 rules
• Norway: working on a hard age floor (work still in process)
• Poland: under-15 style plans + age checks on platforms
• Austria: under-14 style agreement reported in 2026 coverage
• UAE: under-15 style announcement in mid-2026 reporting
• Malaysia and others: age-gate / under-16 style rules entering the same global wave
Most plans land at age 15 or 16. Shared design: force platforms to prove age, not only trust a typed birthday. 👀
Official line is child safety. The science and health warnings:
1) Infinite scroll never ends, so “one more video” can eat hours
2) Social comparison (watching filtered lives and perfect bodies) links in many studies to higher anxiety and lower self-esteem, with girls often hit harder
3) The teen brain is still building impulse control, so “just stop scrolling” is harder than adults pretend
4) Late-night use cuts sleep. Weak sleep hits mood, focus, and school the next day