House of Lords votes to ban social media for under-16s in UK

The House of Lords has backed the amendment

The House of Lord has voted to ban social media for under-16s in the UK.

The House voted today with 261 voting in favour of an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, with 150 voting against.

The amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which was introduced by the House of Commons in 2024, will have to be passed back to the Commons being passed and entering into law.

While the Government could attempt to scrap the change, it is unlikely, with most Labour MP’s supporting the ban, or not willing to go against the party line.

This ultimately makes it very likely for the amendment to be passed.

The amendment was proposed by Tory former education minister Lord Nash alongside former Labour MP Baroness Berger, Lib Dem peer Baroness Benjamin, and crossbencher Baroness Cass.

The amendment says that within 12 months of the act passing, the government must ensure social media sites use “highly effective” age checks to prevent those under 16 years of age from becoming users.

This news follows on from Australia introducing a social media ban for under-16s at the end of last year.