Kemi Badenoch says Tories would ban under-16s from social media
Kemi Badenoch says the Conservative Party will ban under-16s from accessing social media platforms if it is in power.
The Conservative leader told the BBC’s program with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday that the platforms exploit children’s “anxiety” and “distraction” and are “designed to be addictive”.
It comes after teachers’ union NASUWT said the Government should introduce legislation that would prevent major tech platforms from accessing children’s platforms.
A social media ban on people under the age of 16 in Australia came into force in December.
Ms Badenoch said: “What we want to see is common sense – protection for children and freedom for adults.
“We want to give parents an understanding that the Government understands what they are going through, which is why we want to introduce an age limit.
“The internet is a wild west, especially social media. We don’t think children should be there and we want the industry to see where it’s heading so we can start working with them now to put the right solutions in place.”
As a mother of three, Ms Badenoch said she understood that age limits would not completely prevent children from accessing social media, but would alienate a “critical mass” of people from the platforms.
He continued: “Even from my own use of social media, I can see how it is designed to keep you there over and over again.
“We are also seeing a huge increase in depression, anxiety and mental health issues, some of which are quite strongly linked to social media use.”
“We ensure that people graduate from university and continue receiving direct aid. We want to prevent this.
“So all of this ties into our broader strategy: banning phones in schools, getting people to work.
“These are all bricks that will build our policy wall,” he said.
Rejecting host Laura Kuenssberg’s suggestion that she had played “too much Candy Crush”, Ms Badenoch said she had not played any but had used Instagram to check messages and “after half an hour you realize you are just looking at memes and things like that”.
Andy Burnham, the Labor mayor of Greater Manchester, wrote of X after his interview: “I find myself agreeing with much of what Kemi Badenoch said about children and social media. It seems to me that parents would welcome a cross-party consensus around much bolder action.”
Calling for the ban, NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack said: “Teachers deal every day with the consequences of a social media environment that was not originally designed and unsuitable for children.
“Social media companies have shown time and time again that they will not act responsibly unless they have to.
“If we are serious about protecting children, protecting their mental health and tackling the behavior crisis in our schools, a legal ban for under-16s must be urgently introduced.”
Chief school watchdog Ofsted raised concerns late last year that social media was “chopping” children’s attention spans and encouraging disrespectful behaviour.
NASUWT surveyed 5,800 teacher members in 2025 and found that nearly four in five (81%) reported an increase in the number of students displaying violent and abusive behaviour.
Almost three-fifths (59%) of respondents to the same survey said they believed social media was one of the driving factors behind deteriorating behavior.
In a separate survey of 300 members, the NASUWT said 89% of respondents would support a legal social media ban on under-16s.
A Government spokesman said: “We support headteachers to take the necessary steps to prevent disruption in our schools; backed by our guidance, the vast majority already restrict phone use during the school day so they do not disrupt learning.
“Through the Online Safety Act, we have taken some of the boldest steps around the world to ensure children have age-appropriate experiences online by requiring social media companies to protect under-18s from harmful content.
“We strike the right balance: protecting children from harm while ensuring they can enjoy the digital world safely.”
