2 in 3 support social media ban for under-16s, though support softens if it requires nationwide ID verification

• 2 in 3 British adults (69%) would support a law that requires social media companies to use age-verification tools to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing their platforms in the UK, and 3 in 5 (61%) support social media curfews / hour restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds
• Support for a law requiring social media companies to use age-verification tools to ban under-16s from platforms drops of 50% if it means everyone in the UK would be required to upload an ID or credit card to verify their age. This holds if ID verification is held by individual social media platforms (50%) or by the device owners, such as Apple or Android / Google (51%).
• Nearly 3 in 4 adults anticipate a positive impact on reducing children's screen usage and on limiting their exposure to online harms if a ban is introduced (74% each). 

Continued high levels of overall support for social media restrictions for under 18s
The majority of the public support laws that would ban or restrict access to social media for those under 18, including young people.

• 2 in 3 British adults (69%) support a law that requires social media companies to use age-verification tools to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing their platforms in the UK, broadly stable since January 2026 (-3ppts);
• A majority (61%) supports a social media curfew / usage restriction for 16- and 17-year-olds;
• Support remains high amongst 18-34-year-olds, with 67% supporting a ban for under 16s, though it increases with age (75% among 55-75s) and 58% supporting hour restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds, and again this is higher among 55-75s (66%).

Support depends on impact to the wider public
Support softens when the public are asked to also consider implications for the wider public. 

• Support dips to just under half (48%) if the law necessitates a total ban on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) within the UK to prevent circumvention.
• Requiring all Britons to upload an ID or credit card reduces support to 1 in 2, regardless of whether the identification data would be held by individual platforms (50%) or device owners such as Apple or Android/Google (51%).
• Support for a law requiring age verification to ban under 16s from social media increases to 80% if it prevents under-18s from engaging with AI 'romantic' or roleplay chatbots, and 72% would support it if it meant that under 17s could no longer livestream or chat with strangers on platforms such as Roblox.

Most anticipate restriction having positive impacts on child safety online and on reducing children’s screentime
When evaluating the long-term societal effects of a potential ban, British adults anticipate benefits for child safety and screen time, but are largely uncertain as to the potential consequences for children’s digital literacy or awareness of world news / current events 

• 3 in 4 believe age-verification to ban under 16s from social media would have a positive impact on both reducing children's screen usage and on the extent to which they are exposed to online harms (both 74%).
• Just under half (46%) expect the law to positively affect their personal ability to keep their own private data secure, with fewer than 1 in 5 (18%) expecting the ban to have a negative impact in this area.
• 2 in 5 expect the ban to have no impact on children's digital literacy (43%) or on their awareness of world news and current events (40%), with 1 in 3 (33%) expecting the ban to have a positive impact on each.

Responsibility is seen to be spread between parents, social media companies and users, government, regulators 
The British public places the highest onus of protection of under 16s on social media on the immediate circle and the platforms hosting the content, though regulatory bodies and the government are also seen as bearing responsibility. 

• 96% of Britons state that children's parents carry a great deal or a fair amount of responsibility for preventing under-16s from accessing harmful or offensive content.
• A similar share (92%) similarly places this responsibility on social media companies themselves.
• 84% each believe the UK Government and Ofcom bear responsibility for protecting children from online harms.
• Adults using social media are seen as having responsibility by 85%.

Commenting on the findings, Alex Bogdan, Research Director at Ipsos in the UK said:

The data underscores a strong societal consensus that protecting young people from online harm is a collective duty, with parents and social media companies expected to lead the charge. There is clear public appetite for intervention, with most supporting age verification to ban under 16s from social media.”
The key challenge for Westminster and regulatory bodies moving forward will be less about convincing the public of the ban's intent, but rather to ease concerns about how the age-verification infrastructure will impact the wider public in order to maintain support and momentum.

Notes:

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,082 online British adults aged 18–75. Polling was conducted online between 19–22 June 2026.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.