How age checks might work for UK social media ban
- Published
The UK government plans to stop children under 16 from using some of the biggest social media platforms from spring 2027.
Ofcom - the independent organisation that helps make sure television, radio and online services follow UK laws and rules - has now recommended four ways that social media companies could check whether users are old enough.
The UK is following other countries where bans are in place, including Australia where a similar ban was introduced in December 2025.
However, some children there have found ways around the restrictions, so the UK government says its age checks should be tougher.
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How could the age checks work?
Ofcom says four different methods are currently capable of being "highly effective" at checking whether somebody is 16 or older.
Photo ID matching would check information on an official document, such as a passport. The photograph on the document would then be compared with a live image of the person completing the check.
Bank checks could use information about a customer's age held by their bank or another financial company. The person would have to give permission for the check, and have a bank account.
A digital ID would allow somebody to prove information about themselves online, such as their age. It could mean they would not have to show documents such as a passport every time they completed an age check.
Finally, facial age estimation could use technology to study the features of a person's face and estimate their age.
However, face-checking tech cannot always work out somebody's exact age.
Ofcom says some systems can be a few years out, so a person who appears to be close to 16 may need to complete a second check using another method.
This is what Snapchat looked like for users in Australia trying to access the app after the ban
The checks would not only affect children. Adults could also be asked to prove that they are over 16 too.
Some of the tech companies, including Meta which owns Instagram and Facebook, have called for age verification to be applied on a person's device - so that someone under-age would be automatically blocked from installing social media apps from app stores.
But, Ofcom says it will be the social media companies who need to take responsibility for choosing which age checks they use and operating them.
Ofcom's chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, said: "This ban will shape the future of children's lives online, so it's important to get it right. It can work if social media firms do highly effective age checks properly, and we've set out ways that could be achieved.
“They must preserve privacy, they must protect people's data, but it's on you [social media companies] to put in place what you think works for you,” she added.
How these children reacted to the social media ban
Ofcom says it does expect that some children will try to get around the checks.
It adds that platforms could make this harder by allowing underage accounts to be reported, looking for clues about a user's age and adding extra checks through app stores and devices.
Ofcom says it will publish its findings on children attempting to bypass the ban within a year of it coming into force.
What is the social media ban?
Joe Tidy on what the social media ban for under 16s means
The government plans to stop under-16s from using or having account on some social media services.
It has mentioned platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube and X, although the final list has not yet been confirmed, but messaging services such as WhatsApp are not expected to be included.
Children would still be able to go online for things such as learning, visiting Newsround and playing games.
The government plans to set out the detailed rules by the end of 2026.
Parliament must then consider them before the new restrictions are expected to begin in March 2027.
